160 HORSES. 



liable to lameness than when shod, and I am well sat- 

 isfied that horses' feet, as nature made them, are all- 

 sufficient for ordinary work, and, I believe, for extra- 

 ordinary work. After my long experience, I should 

 now as soon think of going to a farrier myself to be 

 shod as to send my horses for that purpose. What 

 surprised me most was that one of my horses was 

 continually falling lame, and we never could discover 

 the cause ; but since she has been worked without 

 shoes she has never shown the least symptoms of 

 lameness, and never stumbled, which she did very 

 much when shod, from which I infer that the paring 

 the soles when shoeing made her feet very tender, 

 and was the cause of all the trouble. Our roads are 

 rough, hilly, and stony, much more so than average 

 roads, so that my success can not be attributed to 

 superiority in this respect. Equestrians would find 

 it far safer to use horses without shoes, as the sole 

 becomes so hard as to be non-sensitive to small 

 stones, and the animals are thus far less liable to 

 stumble.' 



"HOW TO MAKE THE CHANGE. 



" Horses which have been accustomed to wearing 

 shoes can not be driven on hard roads without shoes 

 until the hoofs have had time to grow out and be 

 prepared for the change. If the horse can be turned 

 out to pasture a few months, the hoofs will have am- 

 ple time to grow out and become adapted to the 

 change. In two months a horse can, with care, be 

 brought into readiness for use without shoes. In re- 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



