29 



CHAPTER V. 



SHOEING — lOKD PEMBROKE ON SEP.VA1!TT8 — LUPTO??" ON FAERIEES 

 — FITTING THE FOOT TO THE SHOE — CALKS — INJURIOUS 

 EFFECTS OF FITTING SHOES BY BURNING THEM ON — DOUGLAS 

 ON COLD FITTING — SHOEING IN SPAIN — BRUSHING. 



An old saying amongst horsemen is, ' No foot, no 

 horse ; ' and another, * \yhoever hath care of a horse's 

 feet hath care of his whole body.' From time 

 immemorial it has been recognised that the foot of 

 the horse is the part of him which calls for the 

 utmost care and attention ; yet it is actually the one 

 that at the present day receives the least attention, 

 and is subjected to the worst malpractices. To whom 

 is the care of it confided ? Why, to the stableman 

 and farrier — two of the most ignorant blockheads, 

 as a class, that could be picked out. Lord Pembroke 

 wrote, more than a century ago, of the first-named : 

 ' It is incredible what tricking knaves most stable 

 people are, and what daring attempts they will make 

 to gain an ascendant over their masters, in order to 

 have their own foolish projects complied with. In 

 shoeing, for example, I have more than once known 

 that for the sake of establishing their own ridiculous 



