170 TEICKS OF TRADE. 



horse loses a large portion of his powers: spavins, 

 curbs, thorough -pins, and strained ligaments are the 

 future consequences, and fatigue the present one. 

 The shoe should be made square at the toe to the 

 very extreme verge of the foot : it then comes to the 

 ground with from two inches to two inches and a 

 half firm hold ; whereas in many instances it has not 

 half an inch, indeed sometimes (if newly shod) less. 

 Surely it is worth the trouble of seeing a horse is 

 properly shod when we can increase his powers and 

 comfort so much by doing so ! 



The want of proper attention to both greasing or 

 oiling wheels, and afterwards the way they are put 

 on, is often a sad increase of labour to a horse. A 

 man might think, if his gig or carriage had just come 

 from a coachmaker's, any care in this particular must 

 be uncalled for : now this is just the time when it is 

 most wanted, particularly if lie made it : if he did not, 

 and it only went for some repairs, and he was desired 

 to look to the axles, they may then rattle away to 

 their hearts' content. He will tell you they are 

 either a bad sort, or the arms or boxes are worn out : 

 his business is to get to put in new ones, not to make 

 yours go well : but if he has made the carriage, my life 

 on it he screws them up tight enough then, and will 

 put the screw on the purchaser too pretty well as to 

 price. The latter part of the business does not affect 

 the horses, but the former does terribly: one turn of 

 the winch too far makes a carriage a horse heavier in 

 point of following ; so, to make certain a pair of axles 

 shall run still to do credit to the maker, horses are 

 often half killed. I have many times had the wheels 

 tried when coming from a coachmaker's, and found 

 they could scarcely be got round. It is a common 



