20 ' " THE HORSES RESCUE. 



another shoe for him, when the fault is more their 

 own than the smith's, and no fault of either ofttimes, 

 if it was understood, which I will show and explain in 

 this work. There is no business that tries man's 

 powers of endurance equal to that of horse-shoeing, 

 and no class of mechanics so poorly paid, according to 

 labor performed. He is expected to be there at his 

 post, always pleasant, with a smile on his face when 

 three or four wild colts arrive to be shod, or a vicious 

 stallion, sometimes two or three, and often twenty and 

 more; all want to get home to dinner. These colts 

 never had a foot raised from the ground ; if they have 

 it has been with a rope tied to it, and jerked at a 

 while ; they call that breaking them for shoeing, when 

 the fact is the owner dare not even take up afoot; yet 

 the shoer is expected to get through this difficult task 

 in time for dinner; during this time there are more 

 arrivals, two or' three old offenders, for the after-part 

 of the day ; a lot of old cripples, so tortured on their 

 feet that they can hardly stand, caused by ironing 

 their feet ; and yet he is expected to cure these old de- 

 formed horses, or he is no mechanic. They 'ride him 

 parf of the afternoon : the balance is filled up with the 

 old offending kickers and strikers. They rise up on 

 your knees, and throw nearly all of their weight on 

 you repeatedly ; and finally they smash down on your 

 bio- toes, and off goes the nails; mine has been smashed 

 off so much there is but little left. ^ nd all this is ex- 

 pected to be endured for a miserable existence. Imag- 

 ine the shoer's feelings, and this is to be endured daily 

 until he is broken down, and crippled worse than the 

 horse, at about forty years of age. He has put his 



