168 HORSES AND ROADS. 



the danger of pricking the sensitive parts would be 

 almost entirely done away with ; and thus there 

 would be much less of mutilation of the hoof. 



Perhaps, after a time, some ladies may find their 

 horses improved through the wearing of tips, and 

 then some of them might be found willing to do 

 away with them on the hind feet of their horses ; 

 and, if this were found a success, something more 

 might suggest itself to them. But those who 

 employ tips, even should they get no farther, will 

 find their advantage in a week or two. They must 

 not expect that those diseases of the bones, cartil- 

 ages, or tendons which have been brought about 

 by shoeing, if they are firmly established, can be 

 entirely cured by the change ; but their progress may 

 be arrested ; and, what is equally consoling, they 

 will find by the ' going ' of their horses under them, 

 that the absence of inconvenience and pain in their 

 feet and legs makes them more ' springy,' and, 

 consequently, safer and easier to ride. Let them 

 notice also the difference in the weight they throw 

 on the bit after a while. 



A horse adapted to carry a lady safely and 

 with ease would be well suited for an elderly 

 gentleman, or a timid or inexperienced rider of the 

 plain sex. 



Park hacks, it has already been conceded by 

 authority, * would go more safely without shoes than 

 with them, because shoes accumulate the soil.' Evi- 

 dently, it must also be unpleasant to have a com- 

 pound of tan and manure thrown in one's teeth by 



