10 



horse's foot ; and next, that tlie greatest elasticity of the 

 hoof is at the inner quarter and heel : let these two axioms 

 be unconditionally granted ; and the rest may confidently be 

 trusted to the reasoning -powers of any man, possessed of 

 common sense, for if nature is right, follow her implicitly, 

 and submit to no officious mterference from man ; and if 

 she has made the inner side of the hoof to exj^and the most, 

 take a lesson from her in that too, and do not fetter 

 it with nails. The experience of the last fifteen years 

 has made me very bold upon this point ; in truth it has 

 fairly astonished me ; for, convinced as I was of the in- 

 estimable value to the horse of one-sided nailing with few 

 nails, and prepared as I was to push the system beyond, 

 what many persons considered prudent limits, I confess, I 

 was wholly unprepared to find, that, instead of a rash 

 adventurer, I had been but a temporizing coward, ^^ermitting 

 myself to harbour doubts in cases of absolute certainty : as 

 however it is not my habit to jump to conclusions, I do 

 not regret the course, I have adopted ; it has allowed the 

 further experience of years gradually to unfold, what I might 

 perhaps have arrived at sooner as a speculative conclusion, 

 but could scarcely have secured as an indisputable result. 

 In the first edition of my book I expressed some doubts 

 about the efficiency of six nails for hunting, and five for 

 hack work ; but subsequent experience has proved to me, 

 that more than five are never required for any work, to 

 which a horse can be put, excepting for the i^urpose of 

 counteracting very defective fitting ; and I am j)repared 

 stoutly to maintain, that it is a mechanical impossibiHty 



