146 , THE horse's rescue. 



This horse I prepared in the most skilful and care- 

 ful manner, to test tliis operation. I made the foot 

 very soft bv soakins: in warm water — water is all I 

 ever use — tliat is natur.yl : that is needed, and is the 

 best: it leaves the foot all right. I want no trash on 

 horses' feet for me. 'Just at night I spread these feet, 

 that is, the two forward feet, and let the sole down 

 flat or nearly so, and exercised him some; put him in 

 the barn, fed him, and thought I would sleep to-night. 

 I did not go to the barn until morning. I Inj on the 

 lonnoe — not any sleerj th.at nijrht. It was not tlie loss 

 of the horse that ke}>t me awake. I never stop for 

 money when I want to test anything. I went to the 

 barn, the horse was eating liay ; he Inid not got over the 

 change vet. I well knew he wouUl not without moi'e 

 exercise. I felt of his feet; they wci-e cool; no heat 

 unnatural in them. That's a bi-g thing: to know; that 

 will save me lots of work, and that is not all ; it proves 

 that in changing the horse toward natural, if done right, 

 no heat and fever or inflammation is produced by the 

 operation; if he is put in motion when in hai'mony of 

 action none is produced. After this operation the 

 cause is removed, the unnatural heat is gone, and the 

 foot does not dry up as long as it is kept so. This old 

 shell on some of these horses of long standing is hard 

 and dried up, caused by great internal heat that closes 

 the pores in the shell ; it seems dead, r.nd thcJ'c is not 

 much life in it, and it does help to soak and keep tliis 

 old shell soft. This old drv shell cannot be all cut ofi 

 at once, and if you do not keep the bottom s]:)re:id ii 

 holds the new from o-rowin2f natural. There liaveb'.M n 

 sets of feet grown and cut off, of long-standing cases- 



