ON SHOEING. 59 



not in work or age, but in improper treatment. 

 Joints, tendons, and ligaments, suffer from work and 

 age, but feet do not, and, indeed, from their con- 

 struction, are not likely to suffer from those causes. 

 The feet of an old horse, which have been properly 

 treated, are just as sound as those of a young one. 



Unless owners of horses take the trouble to look 

 after their own interests, they may rest assured 

 that no one else, and certainly not the farriers, 

 will trouble themselves much about the matter. 



It is true that the farrier may know more about 

 shoeing than most owners, just in the same way 

 as the tenant may know practical farming better 

 than his landlord. Yet most proprietors are aware, 

 that if they wish to see their farms thriving and 

 well managed, they must have a knowledge of the 

 principles of agriculture, and must give both time 

 and personal attention to the management of their 

 estates. 



Again, farriers, like workmen in most trades, 

 generally tread in a beaten track, and but few are 

 capable of rising above the stereotyped prejudices 

 and narrow views in which they have been reared. 

 Almost all important improvements in trades come 

 not from the actual workmen, but from those who 

 can bring to bear on the subject theoretical as well 

 as practical knowledge. 



It is always difficult at first to carry out any 

 improvement, because the workman generally sets 



