INTRODUCTION, 



Having been importuned by many friends and for 

 many years to publish a book on Farriery and Horse- 

 shoeing, I have finally concluded to do so. Recognizing 

 full well that it costs time and money to properly pre- 

 pare such a work, for there are so many kinds of feet of 

 horses, dissimilar often only in so slight a degree, that 

 my fear has been it would require too large a volume 

 to contain the necessary information and directions 

 so plainly expressed, and written— "that he who runs 

 may read"— so as to be easily and readily understood by 

 all who would require such information. It shall be 

 the aim of this book of instruction to avoid, as nearly 

 as possible, technical and high sounding words or 

 phrases, and to keep down to commonplace horse- 

 shoer's talk, with proper regard to giving plainly and 

 fully all necessary directions to govern in the prepa- 

 ration and shoeing of any and all of the many differ- 

 ent sorts of feet that may occur to the writer; 

 endeavoring not to let slip any of the many peculiar 

 ones that have come under his eye in his long and 

 varied experience. 



Farriery. 



Webster's definition of a Farrier is a "Shoerof a 

 horse." As practiced in his day his duties were, 

 apparently, only the paring of the foot and the nailing 

 on of the iron shoe. But now it carries with it a 

 broader meaning, it has become an Art ; the under- 

 standing of the motor power of the horse, directing 

 the preparation of the foot and so adjusting its angle 

 to the limb it supports as to conform strictly to 

 Nature's Laws of Propulsion, form the most import- 

 ant duties of the Farrier; next in importance are the 

 directions given the smith as to the fitting of the 

 shoe to the foot after it has been made ready to 

 receive it. Thus it will be seen that the art of Far- 

 riery is not merely paring the foot and making and 



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