94 HORSE-SHOES JND HORSE-SHOEING. 



tainly a step in advance of the sandal. In the valley of 

 the Upper Oxus, towards Budukshan, the people shoe 

 their horses with stag-horn. ' I heard of a singular prac- 

 tice,' says Burnes/ ' among the people of these districts, 

 who shoe their horses with the antlers of the mountain 

 deer. They form the horn into a suitable shape, fix it on 

 the hoof with horn pins, and never renew it till fairly worn 

 out. It is said the custom is borrowed from the Kirghizzes.' 

 Speaking of the Kirghiz, Wood writes : 'What flesh 

 they consume is obtained by their matchlocks ; and the 

 number of horns that strew Pamir bear evidence to the 

 havoc they make among the wild flocks of the mountain. 

 These horns being of a remarkably large size, supply shoes 

 for the horses' feet, and are also a good substitute for 

 stirrup-irons. The shoes are nothing more than a semi- 

 circular piece of horn placed on the fore part of the hoof. 

 When the horse is in constant work, it requires renewal at 

 least once a week.'^ 



' Travels into Bokhara, vol. iii. p. i8o. 

 * Journey to the Source of the River Oxus, p. 340. 



