CONCLUDING EEMAEKS ON SHOEING. 



Notwithstanding- that we have given a long and valuable essay 

 on the shoeing of horses, and have had something to say about 

 them going barefooted, we still have something more to say on 

 this subject. 



There is more damage done to horses from shoeing than by 

 letting them go without shoes ; and we would have the reader to 

 understand that we are speaking from experience, and not theory. 

 We have handled hundreds of wild horses, of all ages, that never 

 had a shoe on their feet, and we never have seen one lame, 

 because the sole, frog and wall sustained a certain portion of the 

 weight ; but when the shoe is put on in the old way, having it 

 bear on the wall only, the sole and frog are not allowed to come 

 in contact with the ground, so that they have no labor to perform, 

 and will soon become dormant and diseased. 



If a horse that has been shod for years in this way loses his 

 shoe, and is compelled to walk on the frog and sole, he will get 

 lame very soon, from the fact that the portion of his foot that 

 has been idle many years is brought into use. The wall is 

 diseased also to a considerable extent, and will break off easily, 

 thus letting the sensitive laminae of the foot come in contact with 

 the grouud, causing instant lameness. We will give you an 

 illustration : Suppose you should place your arm in a sling and 

 tie it to your body for six months, without using it at all, and 

 then take it out, attempting to use it. Do you suppose you 

 could use it like the one that has been in exercise all the time ? 

 Most assuredly not. 



By the same principle, it will disable the horse to have his 

 weight to come on the sole and frog of his foot after being idle 

 for years, by being shod in the manner we have mentioned. The 

 frog that is kept off the ground by this method of shoeing without 



