98 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS 



deavor to make a more satisfactory record of. He lias liad an expe- 

 rience which falls to the lot of few, and possessing keen powers of 

 observation, he has been beneiited by the experience in an unusual 

 degree. With 250 saddle-horses in his emploj^ment, engaged in as 

 arduous duties to try the feet and legs as could be imagined, we 

 were prepared to hear him staunch in his advocacy of a natural foot, 

 though we expected that more of the antiquated notions of the shoe- 

 ing-forge would be exhibited. One remark he made will be the 

 limit in this ai'ticle. " Give him," he said, "a horse with bad feet, 

 no matter how bad, so long as the natural functions have not been 

 entirely destroyed, and by the time there has been growth enough to 

 remove the brittleness from the nail-holes down, the cure in most 

 cases will be accomplished.'' His treatment was to tuin him bare- 

 footed on a proper range, and in place of this being the marshy 

 ground which is usually recommended, it was hilly, rolling land. 

 This he further illustrated by experience with a large band of cattle 

 which he bought. They had become so foot-sore that they could not 

 be driven, and were then feeding on the low ground. After the 

 purchase he transferred them to the hills, and in a short time they 

 were able to travel. The brittleness below the nail- holes is doubtless 

 caused by ciitting the tubes. The perforations which are made by 

 the nails cut off the supply from above, and the catting to prepare 

 the horn for the I'eception of the shoe empties the lower part of the 

 tubes of the fluid which gives vitality. We have had a capital illus- 

 tration of this in Lady Viva, a filly which was two years old on the 

 3d inst. Nearly a year ago she suddenly exhibited lameness, and 

 most careful examination failed to discover the cause of it. Feeling 

 that it was probably in the foot, every method was followed which 

 promised elucidation, but without avail. It was several months 

 before the cause of the trouble was manifest. She had a habit of 

 climbing on the fence, resting her feet on the bar to wljich the boards 

 were nailed, in order to look over, and, doubtless, got a redwood 

 sliver in her toe, at the juncture of the sole and wall, which broke off 

 so far in the horn as to escape the search. This came through at the 

 coronet, leaving a crevice of three-quarters of an inch. This of courts 

 cau sed aseparation of the horn, and though, after there was growth 



