DRIVING OK THE ICE. 235 



as if the unyielding thick ice would be rather a dangerous 

 place for the feet and legs. 



PUPIL. I am inclined to think that, in the northern lati- 

 tudes, the ice might be taken advantage of for teaching 

 colts to trot, without being detrimental to the feet or legs. 

 I have tried it a little, and found by proper shoeing the 

 jar was in a great measure taken offj and they could go 

 with more freedom than on the frozen roads. The shoe I 

 have found best adapted to ice work, has a little resem- 

 blance to the flanged one we are now using. The toe-calk 

 is made to extend quite a distance round the shoe, and the 

 heel ones are set parallel with the foot, and nearly an inch 

 long. They are made of steel, and kept very sharp, so 

 that the cutting into the ice not only gives a better hold, 

 but takes off a great deal of the concussion. I had an eye 

 to the benefit of ice driving, when locating the breeding- 

 farm near the Mississippi. The river itself is apt to close 

 up rough, from the running ice pushing huge cakes over 

 one another. On the large island, however, there are lakes 

 not disturbed by the current, where the ice is smooth, and 

 the woods afford protection from the wind. 



One season I broke three colts that were of the same age, 

 and very closely matched in speed. Two of these I let 

 run all winter ; the third I had shod, and drove her as 

 occasion required chiefly to the little town a couple of 

 miles off. By making a circuit, I could drive on a bayou 

 where the ice was good, and where I would let her step 

 along. She was taken out at irregular intervals, and 

 driven only when her services were needed. Neither had 

 she any better care than the others. When brought in, a 

 blanket was thrown over her till she became dry, when it 

 was removed. The others were turned out of their stalls 

 into the field every day that was not stormy. All were fed 

 alike. As the spring opened, the colt's shoes were pulled 

 off, and she was allowed to run two or three weeks after 



