THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 109 



shoes are hot. As the shoe is Avorked on the anvil, so it is 

 fitted or formed to the foot. It is impossible to fit a shoe 

 to a horse's foot without scorching' the foot a little, or if pos- 

 sible, no man would take the trouble with a cold shoe for 

 the very good reason " That the devil g*ets the smith that 

 hammers cold iron." 



But to do as some smiths do, hold a red-hot shoe to a 

 horse's foot until the smoke of the burning- hoof actually 

 hides the smith, is barbarous in the extreme. Doubtless 

 there are some honest, well-meaning-, but very hard- worked 

 horseshoers that quiet their consciences by the thought that 

 burning- the hoofs does the horse little or no harm, and ena- 

 bles them to do more and easier work. With all due defer- 

 ence to these men, I say most emphatically, the practice is 

 one of the most injurious to which a horse can be subjected. 



It is all nonsense to say that horseshoes cannot be made 

 to stay on and wear as well by cold fitting- asb3^ hot fitting-. 

 I have seen horses shod by cold fitting-, and the shoes have 

 remained on over three months and done well all that time, 

 and the horses were working- every day, Sunda3^s excepted. 

 I do not advocate any such thing-, however, for in my opin- 

 ion six weeks is a long- enough time for shoes to sta^' on any 

 horse's feet. 



In conclusion I will sa}^ if all horse owners would insist 

 that there must be no more burning- of their horses' feet 

 when shod (even if something more must be paid for the 

 work), the practice'would cease but not till then. — By M. 

 D. D. 



