HARD FEET. 101 



Australia, have very hard feet because they are 

 never wet, and for this reason are seldom shod 

 except when used for work on metal roads ; 

 but when in the rainy season they get soft they 

 are obhged to be shod, because their feet are 

 not hard enough. 



Paring horses' feet is also a very bad prac- 

 tice. Nature meant the sole to be stronsr, but 

 when pared it becomes weak, unable to with- 

 stand hard substances, and thus gets bruised 

 and subject to corns &c. The knife should, in 

 all cases, be kept off the feet, the rasp being 

 the best instrument with which to shorten the 

 walls, and it is also perfectly able to remove all 

 exfoliated horn from the sole. Is there any 

 sense in paring an animal's feet, and then 

 having to put on leather soles to protect them ? 



Hunters should not be put to full work 

 until six years of age, for their bones and 

 tendons are unable to stand the continued 

 strain. Until colts have attained their fifth 

 year, they are shedding their milk teeth and 

 cutting others ; consequently their mouths are 



