322 
Notes on Cart Horses. 
I at once recognized him, and my horse-man, who also had 
never seen him, picked him out the moment he came into the 
ring, remarking, " The picter of the hold 'oss ! " 
Some Points in Management. 
And here I would observe that no portion of horse manage- 
ment appears to be more neglected in this country than atten- 
tion to the condition of the feet. And this, not only upon 
farms, but, as I have witnessed, in establishments where hun- 
dreds of horses are kept. When at the Paris Exhibition in 
1867, my attention was forcibly directed to this point. I had 
obtained the first prize for the best pair of cart-horses ; the 
Judges pointed out to me the difference between the condition 
of their feet and the condition of the feet of horses shown by the 
French exhibitors, and they alluded to the general neglect in this 
matter, which they alleged to prevail in England. I was sub- 
sequently invited to the stables of the Paris General Omnibus 
Company, where I found the utmost attention paid to the feet 
of the animals — the feet being soaked twice a week in a pre- 
paration of fat, beeswax, and tar. The following is the receipt : 
1 lb. mutton fat, 1 lb. beeswax, 5 pints neatsfoot-oil, 6 table- 
spoons Stockholm tar ; the whole simmered together. In the 
case of farm-horses the application is not needful, except when 
the animal has dry, harsh feet. But for both nag and cart- 
horses used upon the road, I have found this dressing, as well 
as mutton-fat alone, to be highly beneficial. 
Like most other owners of horses, I have had much to contend 
with from the inveterate habits of shoeing-smiths in paring 
and rasping the hoofs. The sole, frog, and bars should not be 
tampered with, but maintained at their natural growth and 
strength. If the sole be cut away, how is it to be expected that 
the foot will support the weight of the body when brought into 
contact with hard and sharp substances ? Or how can the heels 
remain expanded, and the foot of its proper shape, if mutilated 
by the drawing-knife ? In preparing the foot for the shoe, it is 
only necessary to lower the wall to a level with the sole ; the 
other parts require no touching by either rasp or knife. This 
habit of paring and rasping is so inveterate in shoeing-smiths, 
that I have found nothing but the most peremptory orders 
effectual to stop the practice. 
The advocates of the abandonment of shoeing have of late 
increased ; and although the banishment of horse-shoes appears 
to be as remote as when Xenophon wrote in condemnation of 
these artificial protectors of the feet, I am bound to confess 
that in some cases 1 have witnessed tlie best results from working 
