156 HOESE AND MAN. 



Then, those who inhabit the hard hilly countries 

 are equally sure to say that horses may travel unshod 

 on a level and moist surface, but that their hoofs 

 would be cut to pieces on their own stony hills. 



When they are ' driven to their last ditch ' by 

 being confronted with a horse which is perpetually 

 ridden and driven over the worst roads in England, 

 and which has worn no shoes for many years, they 

 say that the animal is an exceptional one. The 

 same series of opposition has to be encountered by 

 anyone who dares to think that the Creator can 

 make a hoof which can do any kind of work, in any 

 climate, so long as it is let alone. 



Generally, I find that although many people, are 

 ready to admit that unshod horses might answer for 

 riding purposes, they cannot believe that the unpro- 

 tected hoof will permit the animal to draw a load 

 behind it. I was not prepared to hear a precisely 

 opposite opinion, and that from a man whose judgment 

 is worthy of all respect. I mean the late Lieut.-Col. 

 Fred. Burnaby, author of the ' Fade to Khiva.' 



In the course of a conversation on the subject, 

 he stated that he considered the horse as capable of 

 drawing loads without shoes, but not of bearing a 

 rider of ordinary weight, say eleven stone. The 

 additional weight would, in his opinion, wear away 

 the hoof so fast that Nature could not renew it 



