104 MANUAL FOR ARMY HORSESHOERS. 



strokes the haunches and legs, gradually working downward. In 

 the meantime the trainer pats the horse on the neck, but corrects 

 him sharply with the cavesson whenever he displays temper. This 

 method is almost invariably successful. 



The second step is to let the young horse grow accustomed to the 

 shop. While the horseshoer is at work on a quiet horse the young 

 horse should be led into the shop and held by the man who has been 

 grooming him and raising his feet. 



The animal should not he tied, nor should he be held by any other 

 man than the one he knows and trusts. 



When the animal shows neither timidity nor excitement the shoer 

 begins work on the feet. Frequently the removal of the surplus 

 growth of horn is all that can be accomplished without excitement 

 or resistance. At the first sign of either, work for that day should 

 be abandoned and the horse removed from the shop. 



The shock of the hammer is conveyed to the joints of the pastern 

 bones, and the green horse, startled thereby, will struggle to free his 

 foot. The shoer can usually handle a forefoot easily unassisted. 

 If a good helper holds the hind leg in a comfortable position on his 

 thigh and holds the hoof firmly with both hands, the shoer can work 

 with more certainty, the shocks of nail driving will be taken up, 

 to a great extent, in the helper's wrists and arms, and the horse will 

 stand quietly. 



Patient, quiet work will eventually succeed and thereafter each 

 shoeing is more easily completed. 



109. There are, however, certain highly nervous horses in nearly 

 every organization that are refractory as a result of previous bad 

 , handling, and in the emergencies of active ser\ice there may be 

 insufficient time to quietly prepare new mounts for shoeing as ex- 

 plained above. 



In these cases some form of restraint is required, but in each 

 instance no more force should be employed than is absolutely 

 necessary — the gentlest method should he tried first. 



The cavesson, as a means of correction, will usually make a horse 

 stand still and is to be preferred to the twitch. The latter, although 

 effective, is a brutal instrument, and should never be used except 

 upon an animal otherwise unmanageable; moreover, after repeated 

 use of the twitch the horse dreads any approach of the hands to 

 his muzzle, and can be bridled only with the greatest difficulty. 

 Severe use of the twitch will also permanently disfigure the animal's 

 appearance. 



