CHAPTER YIIL 



Endorsement of Tips — Three-quarter Shoe. 



The following letter from Dr. TaliafeiTO, I take the liberty of pub- 

 lishing, though that was not the intention of the author ; and, while 

 many have been received of like tenor, so far as an endorsement of 

 the use of tips, thei'e ax'e objections in this which require an answer: 



San Rafael, November 26th, 1880. 



Mr. Simpson — Dear Sir: — I am glad we are going to hear more 

 from you in I'egai'd to shoeing, and particularly in relation to tips. 

 Everything you write on that subject, and indeed on every subject 

 pertaining to horse matters, is very interesting. I used last winter 

 on my riding mare the tips put on in the manner recommended by 

 you about a year ago, i. e., cutting away the crust until the shoe is 

 upon a level with the sole of the foot. It answered admii-ably during 

 the winter and spring months, but when the dry season sets in our 

 roads become very hard, and my mare wears away the frog and heel 

 as if they had been ground on a grindstone. Besides riding, I drive * 

 the mare a great deal, and, whether riding or driving, I use her very 

 fast. She is thoroughbred, and the hardest animal on the foot and 

 shoe I ever saw. I have been partial to the tip for a good many 

 years, and went at them with renewed vigor after reading your 

 article some two or three years ago on the subject. On a Monday • 

 filly I have, I encountered the same difficulty in the dry season, and 

 have had to give up the tips by reason of lameness caused by tender- 

 ness of the heel. I shall always use the tips, however, put on as 



