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174- Historical. — In Paleolithic ages, there is evidence to show 

 that the horse was an object of the chase, and a source of food. In 

 Neolithic remains, representations of it appear, but still, apparently, 

 only as a creature of the chase. It is first known to have been 

 domesticated by the Egyptians, but not until a late period ; at least, 

 no evidence of its having been domesticated can be gathered from the 

 earlier monuments. In the Old Testament (in which the first mention 

 occurs in Genesis xlvii., 17, when Joseph gave his brethren bread in 

 return for horses, &c.), the horse is chiefly referred to in connection 

 with warfare. In the book of Job (xxxix.), the war-horse is described 

 as rejoicing in his strength, and smelling the battle afar off. Horses, 

 horsemen, and chariots, and trading in horses, are referred to in many 

 places, ^.g'., II. Kings, xviii., 23; Ezekiel, xxvii., 14; Zachariah, vi., 

 2, 3 ; thus showing the general usefulness of the horse to mankind. 

 Even in the earliest ages, man's attention had been drawn to the brittle 

 nature of the horse's hoof; for in Judges, v., 22, we find it stated 

 that : — " Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of their 

 prancings." In the ancient Greek and Roman Journals, also, we find 

 that armies had to be disbanded in consequence of the horses' hoofs 

 breaking and wearing ; while Suetonius and Pliny, as well as other 

 historians, specially record the horses' frequent incapacity to do work 

 from the wearing of the hoof. The exact time, however, when shoes 

 were applied to horses' feet is not known, but the Persians get the credit 

 of being the first to use them. In a Mosaic painting of Pompeii, a shoe 

 is noticed on the foot of the war-horse of Satrapes — B.C., 333. In 

 the year 1653, ^" i^^^ shoe was found in the tomb of Childeric, 

 King of France, who died 481 A.D., and William the Conqueror is 

 credited with having introduced the art of shoeing into this country. 



175. The horse's hoof has been a subject of deep study for centuries ; 

 and I know of no mechanical contrivance which the mind of man can 

 contemplate with greater wonder and admiration. If there is one 

 thing more than another, which rias a tendency to encourage and 

 advance " Science with Practice " it is the art of " horse shoeing." 

 For the shoer to have a knowledge of the different forms or kinds of 



