84 THE CARE OF HORSES 



tion to the fact. ' Oh ; then I suppose that is the 

 reason why my horse always goes so stiff and un- 

 comfortably after being shod !' the lady remarked. 

 ' Naturally,' I answered ; 'the poor beast is as cruelly 

 cramped in his shoe as the foot of a Chinese lady. 

 The natural spring and elasticity of the foot is de- 

 stroyed, and if you do not insist upon the blacksmith 

 doing his work better, he will ruin your horse.' 



The anatomy of the horse's foot is one of the most 

 beautiful works of Nature, but in an elementary work 

 like this I need not enter deeply into the subject. 

 The foot (Fig. 41) chosen to illustrate this chapter 

 is not a ' neat, pretty, little foot,' it is that of a horse 

 working hard all day, and as you will notice, its owner 

 has suffered at one time from ' laminitis,' or fever 

 in the feet, as is shown by the rings on the hoof. 

 The late Edwr.rd Mayhew, M.R.C.V.S., says in one 

 of his works : ' There is but one cause for acute 

 laminitis — man's brutality.'' Horses driven far and 

 long over hard, dry roads frequently exhibit the 

 disease. Cab and post as well as gentlemen's horses 

 frequently have it also after a fine day at Epsom or 

 at Ascot. Animals which have to stand and strain 

 the feet for any period, as cavalry horses upon a long 

 sea voyage, if, upon landing, they are imprudently 

 used without sufficient rest, will assuredly fail with 

 this incapacitating malady. 



To return to the actual shoeing, you see how a 

 horse can be made to suffer torture from ignorance 

 and brutality ; try it on yourself. "Start away 

 from home for a long, hot, and tiring tramp with 

 a pair of new boots or shoes on, just a trifle 

 too small and very stiff and narrow at the heel ; 

 but do not allow yourself to flag, oh dear no ! 

 When in pain and weary, just get a friend who is 

 very ' fit and going strong ' in a most comfortable 

 pair of boots to give you a prod up and keep you 



