266 



No good horseman who has any feeHngs of humanity 

 — however fond he may be of the chase — will practice 

 such wanton thoughtlessness ; but only those who are 

 ignorant and unkind, and consider the horse a sort of 

 motor machine that can be wound up periodically to 

 do duty for a given space of time, without considering 

 for a moment the thousand and one exigencies which 

 may arise in negotiating the chequered and difficult 

 work of the hunting-field. 



HOW TO PREVENT OVER -REACHING. 



A number of horses are given to over-reaching 

 themselves, especially on soft land, occasionally pulling 

 themselves down, dislodging the shoe, and carrying 



a portion of the hoof along with 

 it. It is extremely dangerous both 

 to the horse and the rider, and the 

 best preventive is to have the horse 

 shod short in front, so that if he 

 should still continue to strike his 

 fore feet with his hind ones, the 

 shoes will be of insufficient length 

 to permit him catching hold of 

 them, and thereby pulling himself 

 down. At the same time the heels of the shoes 

 should slope well forward from the hoof towards the 

 ground, with the ends neatly rounded off and pol- 

 ished (Fig. 36). 



Fig. 36. 

 Shobt Shoe Fixed. 



