162 HORSE AND MAN. 



Astley drove ' Tommy ' about twenty-four miles on 

 hard road. 



The two longest drives that had then been taken 

 were these. The first from London to Watford and 

 back, between twenty-nine and thirty miles. This 

 was taken on March 29, 1883. On May 14, of the 

 same year, Mr. Astley drove ' Tommy ' to St. Albans 

 and back i.e. about forty-two miles. 



During this process, Mr. Astley sent me a series 

 of bulletins, sometimes in letters, which at first were 

 quite despondent, and sometimes by cards, stating the 

 number of miles which 'Tommy' had traversed. 



If the reader will contrast the photographs of 

 these two animals, he will see that ' Tommy's ' hoof has 

 scarcely any concavity, and therefore is not quite 

 so perfect an example as that of the former animal. 

 Yet, although not a perfect hoof, it is a good and 

 sound one. The bars are boldly marked, and the 

 frog has become so largely developed, that it fills up 

 almost the whole of the concavity. With such a 

 hoof as this, the animal need not fear the pointed 

 tips of shattered rocks or the razor-like edges of 

 broken flints, and would gallop over either in serene 

 unconsciousness of their existence. 



Almost identical with this hoof is that of a mare 

 who has already become historical in the Battle of 

 the Shoes, and around whom long raged a wordy 



