THE horse's rescue. 93 



Said Mr. Brees : "I think you have fixed him." I^e 

 starts for the hotel, and tells Bennett I am spoiling his 

 horse so I can buy him cheaper. That starts another 

 uproar. I was in some fear they would get the horse 

 away from me. Yet I did not fear them, I held the 

 horse. Let us look at these feet again. Eeaders. you * ' 

 remember how they were when we first examined 

 them. Now look in the bottom of these feet. There 

 is a deep hole in this foot. It is cupped out deep, and 

 yet it is not cut through in any place ; no blood 

 drawn. His foot is narrow, and the shoe follows the 

 shell around clear to the heel even. The foot has an 

 elongated appearance, and it is so. The horse stands 

 braced out, chest sunken in, shoulders dropped back, 

 head down. He does not gnaw his feet. He soon 

 quit that habit when I got him in my care, and yet 

 he can hardly walk. " Mike, to morrow is the last 

 day I can hold 3^ou on the contract. We must fix 

 you for the night. You can lie down. That will 

 save your cords. Your poor feet ache yet,- and they 

 are feverish. To prevent their drying up too much 

 we will pack your feet with sponge, filled with water, 

 and tie cloths on them. It will not do to tie them 

 tight; that would give you pain. We will gather the 

 cloth above the hoof, and sew it so that it will not hurt 

 or stop the circulation of the blood. You must have 

 a good soft bed. It is late at night. I will let you 

 out of some of your trouble before the sun goes down 

 another day." This horse is not in my barn, but in 

 Mr. Bennett's, which is open to all. This work, when 

 I am gone, must be inspected by all to see what I have 

 done. Mr. Brees saw his heels cut down, saw him 



