126 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



ventured to drive nails into the foot of a living horse. 

 I may be told that we have only negative proof of 

 this, inasmuch as there is no mention of horses being 

 shod with iron by any of the ancient writers on 

 husbandry, horsemanship, or the veterinary art. 

 Neither is there any representation of horse-shoes in 

 any of the remains of ancient sculpture, although the 

 artists of antiquity were so minute in their designs 

 as even not to omit a nail in the wheel of a carriage. 

 No mention is made by their historians of shoeing- 

 smiths, or horse-shoes forming part of the materiel 

 of an army ; but we have numerous instances of 

 their cavalry being obliged to halt on their march on 

 account of their horses' hoofs being worn down and 

 spoiled. On this account it was that they so much 

 esteemed horses with hard feet. The Bible speaks 

 of these, whose hoofs were " counted like flint " ; 

 and Homer and others, of " iron and brazen-footed 

 horses, with loud sounding feet " — all which, with 

 the equi sonipides of the Roman Poet, we may consider 

 as poetical ornaments. That the ancients had a 

 contrivance to protect their horses' feet, by a kind 

 of sock fastened on them, is certain ; and to this day, 

 in some eastern countries, these socks are used and 

 sold to travellers by persons stationed for that purpose 

 on their roads. We all remember — as a political 

 event of some interest was attached to it — Vespasian's 

 coachman stopping on the road to put shoes on his 

 mules, which no doubt were shoes of this description. 

 Indeed socks are now sold similar to what we may 

 conclude these to have been, to be used when a hunter 



