Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-01-08
Should Horses he Shod,

The question Of shoeing horses Is discussed
az az leng,n IN FTdSer'S magazine for December.
The writer thinks that horses are now worn out
al least fourteen years before they ought to be,
and that IN this the United Kingdom loses 1918.
0eo GOO every twenty one years. Different
causes for the Injury OF horses are mentioned
out the writer thinks that abuses OF their feet
are most serious, and he asks: ST the working
OF the Evolutionary system leaves the horse 4
II the lessening OF the weight OF iron and OF the
number Of nails used In fixing the iron has
been followed 10y direct and important benefits
In every instance If even those VINO hold that
horse must be shOd have discovered that that
which they look On as protection to the fore
1eet is merely harmful TO The hind feet Is iJ
possible to stltle the suspicion that this insig
nlllcant remnant OF 81 stem so fruitful in mis-
chltt may have 10 magic power and In short,
that the horse may do just as well without
them?' In his reply to this he says:
The plain truth is the differences 10 the
Quality or sell, be It hard Or soft, stony or
sandy, smooth and slippery, are Of COMPARE
lively little Importance to the horse whose feet
are as nature made them. In the words OF
Free Lance the unshod horse can successfully
deal with all roads, and assIredly no one viii
cream OF asserting that shod horses can do
they cannot be worked until certain ceremo.
MES have been gone through at the black
smiths forge. The unshod horse can tread
firmly on the slime OF wood pavement Wnen
shod horses are slipping and struggling In agony
around them; he can gaIop on Ice, and trot
Tor lilies together on the hardest and toughest
lllht roads, with far more ease and comfort than
horses whose feet are shod with iron or even
WIN gutta percha. Free Lance rightly re-
marks That IT they could not there would
be an end of the thing, for evidently the
morse should bo able to go any where and every
where, and at moments notice. 1t seems hard
10 produce the conviction that the natural sole
OF the horses foot Is almost 1mpenetrable, that
1t Is so hard and strong as to protect the SeDsI-
bic sole from all harm, and that all feet exposed
10 nara OBJECTS are made harder by the contact
PROVIDED only that the sole is never pared. This
may be made upon 1t is forcIbly illustrated by
Mr. Bracy clark, who. like Mr.. Douglass and
MI. Mayhem. contented himself with strivingtO
produce perfect shoe, although he acknowl-
edged that II We wish to appreciate the full
beauty OF its structure, I'VE must dismiss from
our views the miserable. coeTced, shod foot en-
tlrely and consider the animal In pure state OF
nature using his foot without any defence
probably Mr.. Clark thought that though we
may consider 1t In Its natural state few can ever
SO pehoid IT. as all horses In civilized countries
are IN greater or less degree brought under artt-
fetal conditions. The plea is fallacious. The
morse Is clearly Intended by nature to serve as
dolnesticated animal: and so long as we DO
nol intei!eTe WIN the proper functions OF any
part OF Its body (and the aOOmination of bear
Ing Ielhs ara other such practices interfere
with them grlevously and even fatally, we
bIlng II under no conditions which 1t was not
dealsnediy calculated to encounter. Private
o"nerS ana companies whose horses must be
NUMBERED by troops are naturally irritatei by
tLe accidents constantly occurring on smooth
~" SiiiAJ VI Ou IOuSu nara
stone or Tint roads. and In their disgust they
now Cfered rewards for the invention OF a shoe
Which shall render the horse Indifferent to the
materials over which he has TO pass, and have
clamored for Uniform system of pavementS
III all towns. 1t seems strange indeed that no
misgivlng seems to cross their minds that they
are taking thought Of the wrong surface, and
that they are scared by false terrors when they
dread the contact or the unshod boot with
sand, granite, flint, wood. or asphalt. 1t can
NOT, indeed. be too often repeated or TOO
not or E,n
In no way needs to rest on soft and yielding
surfaces"