166 THE horse's rescuk 



is satisfied with what he has got, he is not prepared 

 for anything higher. I was not satisfied, witli all my 

 experience and experimenting. I wanted to try and 

 see what effect it would have on this old, chronic, 

 long-standing case, to please myself, and as long as I 

 paid my way, and was burdensome to no man, and the 

 money I used was the proceeds of my own labor, it 

 was the business of no man to interfere with mv busi- 

 ness until I wrong or injure some one, then, of 

 course, I should have been amenable to the law. 



This old mare I took into my shop, pulled off her 

 shoes, and dressed her feet. They were so rolled up 

 by conti-action on the bottom that they had but very 

 little frog They had the appearance of a grain of 

 coffee on the seam side, and they were very hard. I 

 well knew this was a long and hard job, and what the 

 result would be I knew not. I had tnken a bold 

 stand. If I failed whose business is it? Where is 

 there a man that has not made some failures in life? 

 But in this town I was in the way of some, and they 

 hud their dupes to help them do their dirty work, and 

 they had lots of it to do in many ways. I put my 

 spreading shoes on. After' soaking very soft and 

 spreading her feet the first time one-quarter of an 

 inch, it affected her very much. She could not con- 

 trol her ]egs. I moved her around the shop, soaked 

 her feet, and washed her legs and shoulders with warm 

 water. While she stood witli her feet in the tub, 1 

 held m}^ leg in front of hers houi's at a time, and 

 tnpped her on her hind parts to get her on her base. 

 If the time h.ad been kept, it would have amounted to 

 a month that I spent night and day on this mare. 



