STABLE REFOEMS. 221 



to read it. M. Charlie^^s appears firsts, but I will discuss 

 it last^ ruerely remarking en passant tliat lie proposes to 

 slioe tlie horse so as to approacli as nearly as possible an 

 unshod condition. And before looking into these inven- 

 tions let us make up our minds what we want, as ladies 

 invariably do before they enter, say Messrs. Marshall and 

 Snelgrove^s shop. We want shoes and a system of shoe- 

 ing that will cause our horses to remain sound as long as 

 possible. Our horses are^ some hunters, others hacks, 

 others again machiners of different kinds. Those all do 

 different work on different surfaces of ground, and the 

 work itself is likely enough to lame them, therefore it 

 behoves us not to equip them in a manner also calculated 

 to incapacitate them ; for a lame horse is no good to 

 anyone,, being merely an object of dislike to his master^ 

 ■and derision to his groom. 



Hunters shall come first. They are more rarely lame 

 in their feet than other horses. Their work is on soft 

 ground ; concussion is thereby diminished, and they have 

 while in the field the support of the ground over the 

 whole surface of their foot. Also, they generally 

 pass the summer without their shoes, their feet thereby 

 having a chance of resting as it were from the contest 

 which they must have waged during the winter with their 

 shoes. On the other hand, their shoes are nailed very 

 often too tightly, with the view of preventing their being 

 pulled off j and they have the chance of getting fever in 

 the feet from causes unconnected with shoeing, also of 

 injuring the navicular bone in jumping on to hard roads 

 and stones with a pared sole. So their shoe must be 

 light, for its weight is carried for many hours ; it must 

 be easy to the foot, and calculated to prevent slipping as 

 far as possible ; also it must stoy on. The hack wants 



