76 THE HORSE. 



horses never travel comfortably with them on. They 

 are not properly adapted to the feet, and consequently 

 the animal must suffer more or less pain from their ap- 

 plication. 



When a horse is judiciously and suitably shod, he 

 will go -vvith ease and comfort immediately after he has 

 come from the forge. It is only an excuse for bad 

 workmanship to say, he will improve in his action after 

 his shoes are worn awhile. Instead of requiring time to 

 bring the hoof to the shape of the shoe, the shoe 

 should have been accurately adapted to the shape of 

 the foot at the first. 



As it is not always possible to obtain the services of 

 a first-rate smith, it is a good plan to have a horse 

 shod at least a fortnight before he is exposed for sale, 

 or is submitted to the inspection of a Veterinary Sur- 

 geon. I have often seen horses with perfectly sound 

 feet showing lameness, or short action, at the very 

 critical moment, in consequence of some blunder in the 

 application of their shoes, which were put on the day 

 before. The operation is deferred to the last hour, in 

 order that the feet may look neat and tidy at the time 

 of sale. But an ill-fitting shoe, a tight clench, or a 

 nail too close on the quick, will frequently cause the 

 seller to wear his countenance rather long. This could 

 never have happened if the shoes had been worn ten 

 days or a fortnight, because there would then have 

 been plenty of time to discover and rectify mistakes. 



