138 THE FAMILY HORSE. 



begins. After some heating and pounding, and pressing the almost 

 red-hot shoe against the already brittle hoof, after cutting away the 

 heels, and trimming the frog as much as possibly can be done, the 

 shoe is nailed on with eight large nails — six are always enough — and 

 the horse is led away to suffer till the next shoeing. 



The intelligent owner of a good horse should insist on the shoes 

 being fitted cold, and of such size and shape as exactly fit the foot; 

 that the heel is left open its natural width, and kept as low as the 

 rest of the foot ; that the frog be never cut, only trimmed where 

 the edges are ragged, and the shape and condition of the foot remain as 

 nearly natural as possible. If these conditions were insisted on, diflfer- 

 ent work and workmen would be the result, and instead of the present 

 stand-still for half a century or more, we should see improvement in 

 the care of horses' feet ; for Nature has done her part, and needs only 

 to have man help her withstand the action of pavements and stony 

 roads. What we need is a smith who will shoe a horse — as an artist 

 once replied when asked, by an ignorant man, how he mixed his 

 colors — "with brains, sir." A false idea of economy should not 

 result in leaving the shoes on as long as they will stay. Once a 

 month the feet should be examined by the smith, and his judgment 

 should settle the question of new shoes. If he be a good reliable 

 man, who sees in the interest of his customer his own, he will not 

 make unnecessary expense. 



CLIPPING THE HORSE. 



" Should the family horse be clipped? "we hear some exclaim 

 in surprise and horror, who, perhaps, have yielded a willing assent 

 to all previous conditions, but we reply "Yes," in aU candor and 

 sincerity. Not in November or December, just for "looks" or 

 "style," and no account taken of the days and nights when the 

 mercury stands at zero — we do not wonder that in Ohio, that 

 State of good horses, it is made an offense against statute law to 

 clip a horse during the winter months — but in the spring, say the 

 first or second week in April, or if the weather is mild and open, and 

 the horse has begun to shed freely, the last week in March may do. 

 Then to take off the old coat, to save all the currying and rubbing, 

 to save the constant brushing of the clothes and carriage robes to 

 free them from the flying hairs, to stop at once all the itching of the 

 horse as the new hair begins to start, this is a mercy alike to 

 the* horse and his owner. That the horse is really more comfortable 

 no one can doubt who gives it a thought, and it is a bit of personal 

 experience which the writer would recommend to all horse owners, 

 and especially to those who have no hostler or man servant to whom 



