THE PERCHERON REVIEW 
13 
A Group of Well Grown Canadian Percherons 
fected in 1917; that all those made prior thereto were im- 
perfect and unsatisfactory; but that those that they are now 
selling are a success. I recall that the same sort of claim 
was made five years ago; and there is no doubt that it will 
be made each season for all time to come. 
It must be added that it is usually a waste of time to 
reason with a man who has concluded to buy a tractor. Ex- 
perience alone will cure him. Let him go ahead and buy all 
he wants. The more he buys, the quicker he will learn his 
lesson, and it is a safe bet that he will not forget it. 
It must not be concluded from the foregoing that the 
tractor has no place on the farm. It has a proper place, and 
some of the best horsemen in America own tractors; but 
they bought them primarily for belt power. Grain grinding, 
silo filling, hay baling, wood sawing, and other tasks keep 
the engine busy much of the year. Its use in the field is a 
secondary consideration. It is not relied upon, but is some- 
times used, especially in July and August when the weather 
is hot, the ground dry, and the teams are busy with the 
various harvest activities. Used in this way on farms where 
there is work for it, the tractor has a place ; but farms which 
need tractors for such work are owned by men who do not 
need to borrow money to buy them. The man who must 
borrow money to buy a tractor is in nine cases out of ten 
the very man who ought not to own one. 
We have but one task before us. That is to defeat the 
Kaiser so conclusively that autocracy shall perish. To ac- 
complish this we must increase production and eliminate 
waste. We cannot afford to take any chances of failure. 
Tried and tested methods known to be reliable must have 
precedence over visionary and untrustworthy schemes. The 
Governor of Ohio undoubtedly has an earnest desire to help 
increase production in his state, but there is a grave danger 
that more harm than good will come from his misguided 
efforts. If he is seeking to aid farmers in securing needed 
power for farm work, he can prove it by directing the banks 
to loan the funds in question to any man who requires more 
farm power, permitting the farmer to decide whether trac- 
tors or horses will best serve his needs. 
WAYNE DIN SHORE. 
By courtesy Breeder's Gazette. 
A Percheron Foot and How to Shoe It 
PREPARED BY 
George Mac Leod, Geneseo, 111. 
AFTER 
30 Years' Experience as a Fitter and Shoer of All Breeds 
of Draft Horses. 
The old adage, "No foot, no horse," grows more signi- 
ficant with the passing of the years. If these four words 
were more generally understood, it would mean thousands 
of dollars to the horse industry of this country. 
The Perfect Foot 
The perfect foot is not often seen. It is wide at the 
heel and of medium depth. The depth at the heel should 
be about one-half the, length down the toe when the foot is 
in normal shape. The coronet should be round on the front 
feet and as nearly that shape as possible behind. A big 
round foot indicates that the sensitive tissues covered by the 
hoof wall are healthy. The contracted foot, narrow at the 
heel, always means just the opposite. A full frog is a great 
asset to a big horse. It is the cushion which takes off the 
jars. Horses with extremely low heels are likely to go 
prematurely lame because of a lack of frog. The inner 
part of the foot is not well enough protected from the wear 
and tear to which a draft horse foot is subjected to remain 
free from soreness long. However, there is less trouble 
with a thin heeled horse going lame than a high heeled one. 
Some people have an idea that a Percheron foot doesn't 
look well unless it is high in the heel. They forget how a 
'foot must be shaped to last well. Boxy feet, high at the 
heels, are sure to result in lameness sooner or later. They 
cause a horse to stand up on his pasterns too much and they 
always contract and sometimes pretty quickly. High heels 
and poor frogs always go together, for with such a shaped 
foot the weight of the horse comes on the hoof wall instead 
of on the frog. A frog is much like muscle tissue in that it 
never develops well without constant use. If one wants to 
grow a good frog, he has to take off the heel and let the 
frog down to the ground. Then the foot will widen out 
and grow a good, springy frog. The slope of the hoof in 
front should be about 45 degrees, the same as the set of the 
pastern. If kept at more than that angle, a horse cannot 
set down properly on his pastern. To give a horse a good 
elastic step his pasterns must set at such an angle that they 
will move up and down freely. There must not be a stilted 
step which comes with short, stubby pasterns and upright 
hoof walls. 
How to Avoid Foot Troubles 
The majority of all foot troubles are due to negligence. 
Few horses have bad feet from inheritance. Thirty min- 
utes a week will keep the average farm horse's feet in per- 
fect order. What farmer is there who does anything to his 
horses' feet unless they become so long that his horse can't 
walk easily, or unless they break off badly and cause lame- 
ness. Many good pure breds are permanently ruined by 
letting their feet grow without attention. The foot is like 
a sponge, very porous and sensitive to water. It will not 
stay in perfect order without moisture. Keep a horse in a 
stall and his feet will dry up and contract. Never put oil 
on the feet, as that prevents water from entering the hoof 
wall. Pack damp clay in the b6ttom of the foot to hold 
moisture. If I can get it, I prefer white rock clay. This 
can be secured at most drug stores. Get the horse in the 
mud occasionally ,so as to soften up his feet. Where it is 
impossible to get a stallion out into a paddock, he should 
be walked out of doors and especially when the ground is 
