APPENDICES. 213 



APPENDIX G. 



Horse- Shoeing. 



SIR, I was rather amused with the letter of 'Free 

 Lance ' on Saturday. No doubt I did give my poor nag 

 rather a severe trial at first, but I believe it has set a 

 good many people thinking, which is a good thing, and 

 it has not injured the horse. I thought myself the trial 

 was too severe, and determined to be more cautious next 

 time. On Friday last I took another to be shod on the 

 same principle. This horse has first-rate feet, but has 

 had shoes put on reaching nearly to his heels, allowing 

 the frog to come well to the ground, and T shall shorten 

 them each time he goes to the smith until they are of the 

 required size. 1 will not say any more about hot shoe- 

 ing ; this will become unnecessary if all people use tips, 

 which any person ought, I think, to be able to put on 

 with very little practice and thus save the time and 

 trouble of having to send their horses away to be shod. 



I have ridden horses hundreds of miles in South 

 America which never had a shoe on. Their feet grew 

 fast, and often I had to cut the toes, which was done 

 with some difficulty with a chisel and mallet by placing 

 the foot on a block of wood. I do not remember seeing 

 any lame horses except in the towns, and those were 

 generally, if not always, I observed, shod. The roads 

 were, for the most part, sand, full of rough stones, and 

 in some places causewayed for miles. Anyhow, they 

 were pretty rough going. People in this country seem 

 to have no idea what a horse's foot is ; they have always 

 seen horses shod, and think they always must be shod, 

 and never will alter the method if they are let alone. 

 As to the farrier?, it is useless talking to them. Take 



