158 HORSES. 



" MY EXPERIENCE WITH AN UNSHOD HORSE 



** There is no doubt that some horses may be dri - eii 

 over our common roads daily for months, and perhaps 

 years, without being shod. In September, 1882, I 

 bought a mare whose hind feet were not shod. She 

 had raised a colt, and had been running in the pasture 

 all summer without being shod. Before I purchased 

 her she had been shod forward. Thinking it a favor- 

 able opportunity to test the question of allowing 

 horses to go unshod, I determined to try the experi- 

 ment. This mare I used in the practice of my pro- 

 fession as a physician, driving her daily from Septem- 

 ber till some time in March, when I traded her for 

 another horse. During this time I had no shoes put 

 upon the hind feet. I drove her over hard, stony, 

 dry roads, muddy roads, frozen and rough roads, and 

 on snow and ice, and her hind feet never failed her, 

 nor did they suffer for the want of shoes. The hoof 

 seemed to grow as fast as it wore away. Around the 

 rim of the hoof there was a hard ridge of horn, bev- 

 eled by use both on the inside and outside, completely 

 taking the place of a shoe. This horse did not * ball 

 up ' when the snow was soft, nor slip on the ice more 

 than any other horse which was kept well shod. It 

 is true it was a favorable winter as to ice, there being 

 very little of it in the roads. My experience with 

 that horse convinced me that an unshod horse could 

 endure as much driving on ordinary country roads as 

 a shod horse. Whether all horses could do the same 

 is another question. Undoubtedly there is much dif- 



