90 Domestic Animals 



in the morning and obtained his permission for the 

 visit. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun they 

 had; but if you really wish to know, why, "Go 

 thou and do likewise." It happened that Mr. Pine 

 was just ready to shoe a horse. They noticed that 

 he wore a leather apron, and held the horse's foot 

 between his knees. He pared the hoof with a large 

 knife, filed it to make it smooth, and measured it for 

 a new shoe. He heated the shoe red hot at the forge, 

 pounded it on the anvil, and when it was just the 

 right size, cooled it in water, and nailed it to the 

 hoof. 



He showed them that the nails were not like the 

 carpenter's nails, but were long and flat, with a sharp 

 point. He told them if the shoe was too tight, it 

 would pinch the foot and make corns, and if he was 

 careless in -driving in a nail, it might hurt the horse 

 and make him lame. 



He explained the difference between a summer and 

 a winter shoe, the latter having sharp little pieces of 

 iron, called calks, on them, which stick to the ice 

 and prevent the horse from slipping. He asked the 

 children if they could not sing him a song, and with 

 one accord they struck up: 



