BLACKING THE HOOF. 93 



but yet defends the structure from wet. This 

 varnish seriously offends the eye of the farrier, who 

 proceeds to remove it with his file. I have before 

 me a number of hoofs, and only one of them does 

 not show file marks over the entire surface. That 

 hoof, however, belonged to an unshod Circassian 

 horse, and man has never tampered with it. 



THE farrier is at last satisfied with his work. He 

 has made ' a nice, clean foot,' and the animal is 

 taken away to its stable. Now the groom has his 

 turn at spoiling the hoof, and all with the best inten- 

 tions towards the horse. 



Hoofs are naturally mottled with various shades 

 of brown, grey, and black, w r hile in some places they 

 may be nearly white. This mottling, however, does 

 not please the eye of the groom, who considers that 

 the hoof of the horse and his own boots ought to 

 match each other. So, with grease and lampblack, 

 he blackens and polishes the hoof, and then thinks 

 that he has done his duty by his horses. It is a 

 very dirty and disagreeable process, so the very fact 

 that he does undertake it shows that he really thinks 

 that the horse is improved by it. 



True, for a short time, and if the road should 

 happen to be in good condition, the hoofs retain 

 their polished blackness ; but if the road should be 



