The Foot Needs No " Protection." 



The foot does not need the nailing on to it of a shoe 

 for ^'■protection.,'" as in tlie generally accepted meaning 

 of that term. Leave the bars and sole untouched and it 

 makes no diiference how hard the roads, or how rough. 

 Nature has prepared the foot to stand any blow it 

 gets on the ground at any rate of speed. All the shoe 

 is for, and that is why it should always be narrow- 

 webbed, is to protect the wall from breaking and from 

 wearing away — at the work man cuts out for the ani- 

 mal— faster than Nature can reproduce it. The nar- 

 row webbed shoe is the most desirable for obvious 

 reasons; in the first place, as explained, it protects all 

 of that part of the foot — the wall — that it is at all 

 needful to protect, then again the wide webbed shoe 

 must necessarily be heavier, consequently the blow 

 on the ground is heavier, producing that "stinging""' 

 effect so much talked about by trainers and drivers. 

 There is a vibrative, concussive blow to the sole of 

 the foot from the use of wide webbed shoes that is 

 jarring and painful, and that it cannot get from the 

 narrow webbed ones, for they do not extend to the 

 inner surface of the foot over the sole. No harm 

 can happen to the animal's foot, if it is in a healthy 

 state of growth and properly balanced, to have it go 

 unshod— provided the sharp edge of the wall is round- 

 ed off with the rasp to prevent it from breaking when 

 coming in contact with the ground — the animal can 

 as well perform any rational duties set for him. But 

 then, of course, this work is to instruct how to properly 

 shoe the foot and it shall be the aim of the author to 

 carry out, fully, the requirements. 



Proper BedcliDg- to Keep Feet Cool. 



In many stables, more particularly in the western 

 country here, it is customary to use pine waste, shav- 

 ings, sawdust, etc., for bedding. On the score of the 

 economy of first cost, this is excusable, but on no 

 other, and where it is used as a bedding for the horse 

 it should not be allowed to remain in the stall during 

 the daytime for him to stand on, as it is creative of 

 much fever in the feet. The animal had much better 



