HEAVY SHOES, 'CLIPS,' AND EXTRA NAILS. 43 



back.' Mr. Douglas tells us that he found by careful 

 experiment that light shoes will wear longer than 

 heavy ones. The contract farrier, by putting on 

 heavy ones, is thus, as usual, wrong again ; and he 

 cheats himself this time a very fitting judgment 

 upon him. It is unfortunate that the rest of his 

 mistakes do not equally recoil upon him. If this 

 were the only mistake that he makes, it would 

 prove that he takes no warning by experience, and 

 makes no useful observation, when he incontinently, 

 although in an overreaching way, actually mulcts 

 himself ! This man will also put in extra nails, and 

 make clips on the shoe to help the nails to keep on 

 the exorbitant weight of iron ; and all this means 

 only so much extra mutilation of the hoof. 



Horses in England are universally over-shod, as 

 well as over-mutilated in the hoof; although, only 

 last year, the author of the ' Book of the Horse ' 

 wrote, in a contemporary, ' The general tendency of 

 the age is to shoe as little as possible. 1 This 

 ' tendency ' is very little apparent when people come 

 to observe every horse they meet (as the writer 

 does) ; although one notable exception (as there 

 is to every rule) is to be found in the streets 

 of London in the horses belonging to Mr. John 

 Smither, East Smithfield. These horses do not 

 slip about as much upon greasy pavements and 

 asphalt as is the rule with other horses. At the 

 present season, London observers may satisfy them- 

 selves on this score. This gentleman is owner 

 of a considerable number of horses, and his cars 



