NECESSITY FOR DIMINISHING WEIGHT. 659 



carefully kept out of sight, or altogether overlooked ; and 

 yet we cannot forget that it has a great influence on 

 the wear of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. 

 It is the fashion to say that a horse always travels better 

 in his old shoes, and to attribute this to the fact that he is 

 not pinched in them. Ascribing something to this cir- 

 cumstance, though if the horse's hoofs had not been 

 mutilated by the knife and rasp, he would probably, or 

 rather ought not to feel pinched, we must also take 

 into account that a good portion of the superfluous and 

 fatiguing weight has been got rid of by wear. 



It is worth noting the changes that take place on the 

 ground-face of a heavy shoe on the foot of a riding-horse 

 during a long day's journey. How in the morning we 

 have the indications of muscular freshness and activity, — 

 the agile step and due flexure of the articulations, putting 

 their impress on a certain part of the metal ; towards mid- 

 day a change of bearing and point of friction testifying 

 to muscular fatigue and heavier attrition ; and in the 

 afternoon, unmistakable symptoms of dragging the feet 

 and leg-weariness. 



So that in hygienic shoeing, we have a perfect right 

 to insist that not a grain of iron more than is absolutely 

 necessary to protect the crust from undue wear, or serve 

 a useful purpose, be applied to the foot. Every particle 

 beyond this is not only unnecessary, but injurious. 

 Nature, in constructing the animal-machine, and enduing 

 it with powers to sustain the ordinary requirements of or- 

 ganization, and even certain extraordinary demands, could 

 scarcely have been expected to provide the large addi- 

 tional amount of energy necessary to swing backwards 



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