THE hokse's rescue. 55 



spread faster, the weight being in the center, with shoe 

 nailed on the bottom. Don't you think the bottom 

 would have been the proper place to spread the foot?" 



" Well, it does seem so.'' 



'' I have shod horses a great many years, and I have 

 never tried to spread tlje foot wider at the top than it 

 was at the bottom, but this process was recommended 

 by Robert Bonner, and I suppose it is all right. This 

 horse's shell is thick. If it had been thin there would 

 have had to be some plan studied out to stop his foot 

 from splitting open in many places. Then it would 

 want contraction a^ain to close the cracks. It is curi- 

 ous they could not see the lever; that tip-back 

 principle is not seen by many on horses, yet it 

 exists, Vvdiich I shall show before I get through this 

 work. I intend this work to be an eye-opener. I am 

 wiiting it in the night, wiien all is quiet, all asleep, for 

 I am so annoyed through the day I cannot write so 

 well. 



These poor cripples are continually coming for re- 

 lief. Of course I tell them what to do. They want 

 me to do it. I tell them I am as stiff and sore as their 

 horses, and let them go. This book must be written. 



Let us return to the horse. He is shod on the for- 

 ward feet. He stands a little back of straight. Let 

 us see how strong he is on his kness. Push him for- 

 ward on his knees. He is very weak, but he is bal^ 

 anced about as well as he can be considering the con- 

 dition his poor contracted feet are now in. His toe, 

 that awful lever power, is growing. His knee will not 

 go over with this job. He feels better now, but his 

 feet ache awfully. Golly ! in all of this hubbub, folks 



