2i6 HORSE-SHOES AND HORSE-SHOEING. 



thy fathers!' He then goes his way, and tlie farrier re- 

 turns to his work. But if the horseman does not bring his 

 shoes with him, lie gives two boudjous to the farrier for 

 the complete set, and his thanks are couched in the simplest 

 formula of Arab courtesy. ' Allah give thee strength ! ' 

 he says, as he takes his departure. 



In the Sahara, in Syria, and throughout Arabia, the 

 shoes are fitted in a cold state. In the foot of the horse, 

 say the horsemen of these regions, there are hollow in- 

 terstices, such as the frog, the heel, etc., which it is always 

 dangerous to heat, if only by the approach of the hot 

 iron. This aversion, founded on the destructive action of 

 an extreme degree of heat on the delicate parts of the 

 foot, is so strong among them, that in bivouacs, when the 

 Arabs of the Sahara saw the French shoeing their horses, 

 and fitting the red-hot shoes to the hoofs, they exclaimed, 

 ' Look at those Christians pouring oil upon fire !' In a 

 word, they cannot understand why — especially in long 

 marches, when exercise makes the feet more vascular, any 

 one should wish to increase this natural heat by the action 

 of hot iron. 



The shoes are very light, but made of well-hammered 

 iron. In the fore-shoes, only three nails are driven in each 

 side, through round holes which are close together. The 

 toes remain free, as the Arabs say nails in that part of the 

 foot would interfere with its elasticity, and would cause in 

 the horse, when he sets the hoof on the ground, precisely 

 the same sensation a man experiences from wearing a tight 

 shoe. Many accidents, they assert, thence ensue. The 

 hoofs are neither pared nor shortened, adds Daumas, and 

 the horn is allowed to grow freely, the very stony ground 



