234 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



clumsy, weighty, and thick. A thin, light shoe is in every 

 respect preferable, the lightness of the metal ensuring a firm 

 foothold, while it likewise brings the foot-proper in closer 

 proximity to the ground. 



Fifth, is the strong fancy for calkins, — things which I as 

 strongly decry, except for heavy draught horses, and for 

 those accustomed to trust to their assistance for backing 

 weighty loads. Even where such appendages are acknow- 

 ledged to be necessary, a toe-piece should be likewise 

 added to the shoe and the forepart slightly thickened, in 

 order to ensure an evenness and steadiness of footing, 

 together with the keeping of the foot in its own natural 

 position. A horse mounted upon calkins without the 

 addition of the toe-piece must feel quite as uncomfortable 

 as a vain belle when mounted upon a pair of tapering high 

 heels. 



Another way of preventing injury in the form of contrac- 

 tions from calkins is, to have the shoes forged of even thick- 

 ness from heel to toe, and then to remove a portion of metal 

 from underneath the quarters. A horse's real weight is on 

 his toes and heels : nature shows this by weakening the 

 hoofs at the quarters, and the law of mechanics illustrates 

 that if the extremities of any powerful substance are equally 

 and adequately sustained, the absolute body which forms as 

 it were a bridge over the space, m.ay be trusted without 

 support. 



Sixth, is a terrible evil : namely, employing the rasp to 

 the outer wall of the foot, in order to bring it down to the 

 size of a shoe that is too small for it. This cruelty is 



