PEEFATOEY NOTE. 



It is a painful reflection that the advance of civiliza- 

 tion seems ever to be accompanied by an aggravation of 

 certain evils; and in no instance is this more marked 

 than in the terrible amount of suffering unnecessarily 

 endured by the Horse. 



This animal, preeminently the most useful to man, is 

 the one upon which is inflicted, either wantonly, or 

 through sheer ignorance, or thoughtlessness, the greatest 

 amount of cruelty. The records of all humane societies 

 show that, of prosecutions for cruelty to animals, an 

 overwhelming majority refer to the Horse ; and of these, 

 a large proportion are for working-horses while suffering 

 from lameness, in one form or other. So frequent are 

 such cases, that observers have concluded that its preva- 

 lence must result from some specific cause, and, not un- 

 naturally, attention has thus been directed to the various 

 modes of management practised in relation to the horse's 

 foot, to the manner of shoeing, and, in particular, to the 

 way in which the hoof is prepared for the shoe. 



Convinced that very much suffering results from im- 



