126 HORSE SENSE. 



margin and gradually becoming thinner as it descends. In a very dry 

 atmosphere, like ours, it is of paramount importance that this beautiful 

 shield should be preserved and fostered, and no name is bad enough for 

 a senseless custom which, to serve no good purpose, robs the foot of a 

 necessary protection which is beyond the power of art to imitate or 

 replace." 



MANNER OF SHOEING IN WINTER WHEN IT IS A NECES- 

 SITY. 



Winter shoeing in this climate is almost a necessity, where heavy 

 loads are to be drawn over wet, slippery or icy roads, but it should be re- 

 membered that the horse accustomed to going barefoot will maintain his 

 footing better from the use of the elastic frog and bars of the foot than 

 the horse not sharp shod. The shorter, smaller and sharper the calks 

 of the shoe, suf^cient for the catch, the better and safer for the horse. 

 Long, heavy ties and calks on the shoe puts the horse up on stilts, and as 

 they wear unever, more or less trouble ensues. 



THE HORN OF THE FOOT AFFECTED BY SHOEING. 

 The horse that has worn shoes for a good long time is very apt to go 

 lame without their protection. The growth of horn has been dimin- 

 ished and the material supplied for that purpose of an inferior char- 

 acter, and as the horn becomes harder (not tough) by shoeing, it is more 

 rapidly worn away on hard roads. The horn of the natural unshod foot 

 is easily cut with knife, but does not work with the rasp as well as the 

 hard foot of the horse that wears shoes. The former is elastic and as 

 pliable as a piece of whalebone, the latter is brittle and about as lifeless 

 as the hoof of a dead horse, and soaking tubs nor poultices or oils will 

 bring back the natural condition. The thousands of minute tubes that 

 carry nourishment to the entire wall have been cut off or marred by the 

 knife and nails. 



CONTRACTED FEET THE RESULT OF BAD SHOEING. 



As before stated, the outside of the horn is covered with an impervious 

 enamel and retains the moisture of the foot when unmolested by the 

 rasp, in trying to make what is called a finished job of the shoeing. No 

 wonder we behold such a vast array of contracted feet. When we see 

 that the natural unshod foot is strong and elastic, with a well developed 

 and elastic frog of wedged-shaped form, which prevents contraction, 

 while a sole that sheds off its old growth as fast as the new is formed, 

 then why in the name of common sense should we deliberately go to 

 work and rob the outside protection that nature has so wisely provided? 



Nature's "buffer" — cushion for the foot — to ward off a part of the jar 

 to the column of bones above, as well as to the foot itself, should always 

 come in contact with the ground, whether the horse is shod or not, and 

 on no account should the smith be permitted to trim and carve at this 

 important elastic body, the frog. It is impossible in a work of this size 

 and character to take up the different phases and styles of the shoeing 

 question, much of which is yet in its experimental stages. 



