Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-12-30
] Sheald Horses Be shodq


cussed at length in Fraser's Magazine for
December. The writer thinks that horses
are now worn out at leass fourteen wears
before they ought 10 be and that in this
the United kingdom loses $675, 900, 900
every twenty-one years. Different causes
for the injury of horses are mentioned
but the writer thinks that abuses of their
feet are most serious, and he asks: eff the
working of the traditionary system leaves
the borse q wreck almost before he has
reached his prime if'the lessening Of the
weight of iron and -ofthe- number OF nails
used in fixing the iron has been followed
by direct and important benefits In every
Instance, If even those who hold that a
horee mustbe shod have discovered that
that which they look on as protection
to the fore feet is merely harmful % the
hind feet issit possible to stife the sus-
picions that this Insignificant remnant of a
syU.em so fruitful in mischief may have
no magic power, and, short that the
horse may do just as. well without them?n
In his reply to this he says K
2 THE plain TRUTHS that differences in
the quality of soil, be it hard or soft, st ny
OF sandy, smeothrand slippery are of com.
paratively little Importance to the horse.
whose feet are as, nature made them. In
the words of Free Lance, the snshed
horse can successfully deaIw with all roads,
and assuredly no one will dream of as,
sorting that shod horses can do this for on
the setting in of FROST. for instance, they
can not be worked until certain ceremon-
les have been gone through at the BIZ OK
smiths forge. The unshod horse. can
tread firmly on the slime Of wood pave
ment when,sf1od horses are slipping and
struggling in agony around them; he can
1gallop on ice, and trot for miles together
on the hardest and rofghest flint roads,
with far more ease and Comfort than
horses whose feet are shod with iron, or
even with .gqtta-percha. Free Lance
there would be an end of the thing, for
lsevident1y 4he horse should be able to- go
anywhere and everywhere, and at mo
'me1ts notice" 1t seems hard to produce
| the conviction that. the, natural sole of the
| horse S, feet is almost impenetrable, that
lit, is.so hard EuIk strong as to protect the
sensibles lie from all harm, and that all
| feet exposed to- hard OBJECTS are made
| harder by the contact, provided only that
the sole is never pared. This adequacy
tofsthe' horses foot TO all demands that
May he madeupeni it is forcibly illustrated
| by MIR. Bracy Clark, who like Mr.. Doug
| lass. and-Mr-~ M ayhew, contented, himself
with striving to produce perfect shoe,
although he aclknowle d dyed that if we wish
| tuapprecfate rffe fun beauty of its str1ct
ure we must dismiss from our views the
miserable, 5eoerced, Ehod foot entirely and
| consider the animal in pure state OF ma
tHre, susing has feot without and defense
| Probably Ur. Clark thought that, though
we may Consider it in iISnatural state, few
can ever so}behoM it kas all horses in civil
fized eouhtfies are in greater or less degree
brought under artificial conditions. The
| plea is fallaeif us. The horse is clearly
| intend ed by nature : t. serve as a domes1
Gated animal; and so loRs as we do not
Islnterfsre with .thespfoper functions of any
part of its body land the abominatiOn of
! bearing reins aad other suchspractices in
| terfere With them grievously and seven
fatally, we bring them under no condi-
ti0ls which it was hot designeCfy 1calcula
ted to encounter. Private owners and
companies whose horses must be n mber
| ed by troops re naturally irritated by the
accidents Instantly occurring on smooth
EaRds Shiny pavementso or on rough and
hard stoue ur fitnt roads and in their dis
gust they now offer rewards for the inven
ston of a shoe which SHALL render the horse
Indifferent to theInaterials over which rs
has to pass. and have clameredfor uni
form system of venenas i'm, All towns
It seems strange indeed-thatpo mig
givings seems to cross their, minds that
| they Fare taking thoughts Of the wrong
surface, and that they are scared by false
terrors when they dread the contsAct of the
unshod hoof with sand, granite, flint,
wood or asphalt. 1t can not, indeed, be
too often repeated or too Strongly insisted
| an that the foot of the horse il'iio. y
neeas.to rest on soft and yielding sur
| facesu So