APPENDIX TO SECOND EDITION. 159 



ference in the hardness and toughness of different 

 horses' feet. Some, perhaps, would require shoeing, 

 while others would not. If I had a colt which had 

 not been shod, I should drive him without shoeing 

 until I saw that he needed shoeing. 



" USING FARM HORSES UNSHOD. 

 " Many if not all farm horses might advantageously 

 go without shoes, at least during the summer months. 

 As the experience of those who have tested the 

 method is of more value than any mere theorizing, 

 let us hear what a Michigan farmer says in a commu- 

 nication to the Tribune on this matter. He says : 

 ' For fifteen years I have made it a practice to take 

 the shoes off of all my horses when beginning spring 

 work, and let them go barefoot until fall, and I find 

 that they can do all the farm work as well as when 

 shod. I have no trouble about driving on the road, 

 except when drawing heavy loads up slippery hills ; 

 if hills are dry, I know a team can draw as heavy 

 loads barefoot as when shod, and I think a horse can 

 travel easier and better on good sleighing without 

 shoes ; but in this part of the country there are apt 

 to be so many icy spots during the winter that I keep 



my horses shod then I have never had a horse 



with bad feet since letting them go barefoot in sum- 

 mer, and when they are shod their shoes stay on much 

 better than when I kept them shod all the time.' 



"A CONNECTICUT FARMER 

 who had tried working horses unshod says : ' I find 

 they work better, more sure-footed, and are far less 



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