CHAPTER VII. 



THE HORSE'S FOOT, AND HOW TO SHOE IT. 



We now come to the consideration of the most diffi- 

 cult and interesting subject a horseman can consider, — 

 the matter of shoeing. Hundreds of volumes have been 

 written upon this topic, and hundreds more, I presume, 

 w^ill be published ; and yet no ground of common agree- 

 ment has, as yet, been found, and may not be for years 

 to come. It is not, therefore, with the expectation that 

 men will agree with me, or that I shall be able to har- 

 monize antagonistic opinions, that I now address myself 

 to the discussion ; for such a hope would be vain, and the 

 result of the effort useless. I do not doubt that what 

 I have to say will stir the wrath of some, and excite 

 the active hostility of others ; but to this I am indiffer- 

 ent, if peradventure I may be able to make a matter hith- 

 erto veiled in darkness, and shrouded in mystery, to the 

 popular eye, more plainly understood by those who are 

 more directly interested in it than all the veterinary 

 colleges in the world: I mean the actual owners of 

 horses. I do not write in the interest of any clique of 



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