INSPECTION B Y FARRIER. 245 



wanted, that a visit to the farrier's shop is necessary, 

 because the groom has been too careless to examine 

 the shoes in proper time ? It may be a matter 

 of almost life and death to catch a train at a par- 

 ticular time, and the horse is useless. The station 

 may be a long way off and the farrier's shop not 

 within easy reach. Again, a day's hunting may be 

 lost because of such carelessness. Such lost days 

 are sure, too, to be ' good scenting days.' Where 

 practicable, let me advise the reader, if a hunting 

 man, to arrange with the farrier to always visit his 

 stable at such an hour on a hunting morning, that, if 

 anything is wrong, there may be time to have it put 

 right before starting. If the morning visit cannot 

 be arranged, let him come the day before ; but the 

 morning is the best time, as it is quite possible that 

 a fidgety or nervous horse may, in kicking at night, 

 as such horses are very apt to do, displace or break 

 a shoe, and it is as well to be on the safe side. 



A good and careful farrier should never prick a 

 horse in shoeing, i.e., should never drive a nail into 

 the quick. I fear that but few horses escape this 

 at some time or other during the year. Whenever 

 a horse's foot is hot, and it has been recently shod, 

 it may be generally assumed that it has been 

 pricked. The shoe must be at once removed, and 

 the suspected nail-hole searched and poulticed with 



