CONTENTS XI 



CHAPTER VI. 



Horseshoeing on ' improved principles ' — Hot-fitting — ' Clips ' and 

 their origin — Groove cutting in the hoof — Natural thatch of 

 the coronet — Natural varnish of the hoof — Abuse of the rasp 

 — Blacking hoofs — Effect of grease on the hoof — 4 Stopping ' 

 hoofs — The ' bottle of oils ' — Its effect on the hoof — Drugs in 

 stables — Horses poisoned — Thirty thus lost by one owner — 

 Anti-drug Association — The rashness of ignorance ... 86 



CHAPTER VII. 



The shoe — Artificial roads and artificial protection — Variety in 

 roads — Straw shoes of Japan — Raw hide or ' parfleche ' shoes 

 of North American Indians — Shoe nails — Their ordinary size 

 and number employed — Diminishing thickness of wall — An 

 old Scotch law — The ' unilateral 'system — A hoof prepared on 

 the ' improved system ' — A mangled hoof restored by Nature 

 — The dangers of shoe nails — Cut nails and forged nails — A 

 remarkable accident — Effect of a heavy shoe on the horse — 

 ' Marden ' and the dead heat — Effect of a heavy shoe on the 

 muscles — Lancashire clops and French sabots — Cetewayo and 

 followers in England — The ' lurry ' horses and their shoes — 

 Lieut. Douglas's calculations — Loosened hoofs . . . 101 



CHAPTER VIII. 



The calk, or calkin — Horses on pattens — Two strange accidents — 

 Calks in America — Supposed uses of the calk — Sir. Bowditch's 

 testimony — Weight thrown on the edge of the coffin bone — 

 High-heeled boots and their effects — The battle of the shoes — ■ 

 Recognition of defects in shoeing — The Goodenough shoe and 

 its object — Jointed shoes — The Clark jointed shoe— The screw 

 shoe — Expansion and contraction — The effect of the screw on 

 the hoof — Tips, and how to fasten them — The Charlier, or 

 'pre-plantar ' shoe — How to apply it — Usually too large and 

 in danger of breaking and twistinjr — Best length and weight 

 for a Charlier shoe — Man versus Nature — A series of happy 

 thoughts — Their results upon each portion of the hoof . . 116 



CHAPTER IX. 



The shoe useful in proportion to its lightness — Therefore, the best 

 shoe seems to be none at all — Capability of the human foot — 

 Value of an army dependent on its marching power — Lord 



