310 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 



time. This kind of stuffing is clean, easy to apply, 

 and effectual except in extreme cases. When the 

 foot is very dry, I do not find that it answers the pur. 

 pose. Some authorities, moreover, maintain, and I 

 believe rightly, that oil should never be applied to a 

 hoof, because it renders the horn brittle, and impairs 

 its quality. This is the opinion of Charles Marvin, 

 the well known California trainer, whose intelligence 

 and great experience with horses give weight to the 

 assertion. Air. George Fleming, also, whose prize 

 essay, "Practical Horseshoeing," is the best work 

 on its subject that 1 have ever seen, holds the same 

 view. 



Another method of " stopping," and a very good 

 one, is to put a wet sponge or a handful of moss in 

 the hoof, keeping it in place by a small stick, or, 

 better yet, by a thin piece of steel, stretched across 

 the foot, and inserted under the rim of the shoe. 

 Finally, felt pads can be bought for seventy-five cents 

 a pair, which are secured to the foot by means of an 

 iron toe-piece and a strap and buckle. Thrown into 

 a pail of water, these pads will in a few minutes ab- 

 sorb moisture enough to last all night; and they are 

 convenient to use on a journey. After a very long 

 drive, especially in summer, the horse's fore feet 

 should be stopped as a matter of course. 



Where shoeing has to be done frequently, as in the 

 case of fire horses, it is important that the hoof should 

 grow fast, in order to supply the necessary waste of 

 horn. Some horses also, as the result of disease, of 

 bad shoeing, or of bad formation, have a deficiency 

 of hoof. In such cases it is common to apply oil to 

 the hoof; but, as I have stated already, many good 



