122 HORSE-SHOEING. 



It requires but little observation and reflection, one would think, 

 in order to arrive at the conclusion that the art of horse-shoeing 

 is not only an important one, so far as civilization and the ordinary 

 every-day business of life is concerned, but that the successful 

 utilization of the Horse, together with its welfare and comfort, in a 

 great measure depend upon the correctness of the principles on 

 which its practice is based, and the mode in which these principles 

 are carried out by the artisan. 



For proof of this we have but to glance at the immense traffic in 

 our great towns and cities in which the horse figures so prominently, 

 at the same time remembering that, without a defence to its hoofs, 

 this invaluable animal would be almost, if not quite, valueless, in 

 consequence of the hardness of our artificial roads, and the great 

 efforts demanded from him ; or, studying the anatomy and functions 

 of the limbs and feet, to call to mind how these are wonderfully 

 calculated to serve most essential purposes in locomotion and 

 weight-sustaining, and how necessary it is, at the same time, that 

 their natural adaptability be as little as possible thwarted or 

 annulled by the interference of man in his endeavor to protect 

 or aid them. 



From the earliest ages, the horse's foot and its envelop, the hoof, 

 have been looked upon by horsemen as the principal region of the 

 animal's body to which care and attention should be directed ; as, 

 when these become injured or diseased, no matter how perfect 

 and sound the other parts may be, the quadruped's services are 

 diminished or altogether lost. 



Consequently, the preservation of these in an efficient and 

 healthy state has ever been the aim of those who valued the Horse 

 for the immense advantages his services were capable of conferring 

 on mankind ; and in later years, those who have been moved 

 by the sacred impulse of humanity toward the lower creatures, 



