2 3 o THROUGH STABLE AND SADDLE-ROOM. 



sary to study the conformation of the foot before 

 we can determine what sort of shoe will fit it. 



Were horses required to work on soft ground 

 only, they w T ould not require any shoes at all. 

 Indeed, there are some horses whose feet are so hard 

 and flinty, and the horn of such wonderful texture, 

 and its growth so rapid, that they can work on any 

 ground unshod ; but these cases are few and far 

 between, and though several people have written 

 on the subject of using horses without shoes, and 

 have tried to abandon their use, it has never been 

 adopted generally; and except here and there, as a 

 sort of craze, it is not likely to obtain favour, since 

 there are so few horses which can stand the wear 

 and tear of our roads without shoes. 



Now let us inquire what the use of a shoe is. 



The answer, of course, is this, viz. : To protect 

 a horse's foot from breaking or sustaining too much 

 wear, thereby becoming sore, when ridden or driven 

 on hard ground, such as our macadamized roads of 

 the present day, etc. 



Nothing further than this is required ; yet it is 

 most difficult to effect this in a simple and sensible 

 manner. One thing is certain, and that is, that 

 there is no substance which we know of, as yet 

 discovered, which will answer the purpose as well as 

 iron. The edge of the crust is what it is necessary 



