apprehension on that head. The exjiei-ience of the last fifteen 

 years has thoroughly confirmed all my former views, and 

 dissipated the few misgivings, which I may at first have 

 entertained, of the capabihty of five nails to retain the shoe 

 of a hunter in a deep country. 



Before however so desirable a practice can become general, 

 some powerful prejudices, which prevail with about equal 

 force among many horse-masters, grooms, and smiths, must be 

 entirely relinquished ; for instance the notion, that " bringing 

 in the heels of the shoe necessarily contracts the foot," is 

 one, that finds numberless supporters among men, who would 

 blush to be as little informed upon other matters. A 

 very small acquaintance with the nature and offices of the 

 parts, composing the foot, will suffice to expel this as Avell, 

 as the equally vinfovmded fear, that the smallest pressure of 

 the heel of the shoe against the frog will lame the horse. 



The principal argument however, ujjon which the unin- 

 formed ground theu- objection to bringmg in the heels of 

 the shoe, is the necessity, which they affirm to exist, for 

 affordmg the horse more support at the heels, than nature 

 has given to liim ; and wlfich, they say, my j^lan entii'ely 

 deprives him of. Now what does this argument amount to 1 

 Neither more, nor less than a declaration, that the Almighty 

 Creator of the Universe has failed in iin^^arting to the horse's 

 foot the form, best suited to his requirements ; and has 

 delegated to the puny intellect of man the task of devising a 

 remedy. Surely the stoutest stickler for the infalibihty of old 

 plans, and old prejudices will shrink from subscribing to such a 

 doctrine as this ; but, cavil as they may, it comes to this at 



