Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-07-28
SHOEING THE KICKERS.
A BLACKSMITH EXPLAINS THE IN
TRICACIES OF THE WORK.

Will Make Horses Kick-Mules That
Feel the Rafters With Their Heels-Ex-
citing Experiences.
How do you manage horse when he re-
fuses to be shod." asked a reporter of a burly
blacksmith in South Baltimore one morn
ing
The blacksmith drew the hoff of a large
horse between his legs before answering the
question! and, bending the toe till it nearly
touched the forelock, replied: This is the
first thing We try as being the handiest
remedy We have in the shop. We just
twist the toe up in this manner and it
thightens the muscles of the leg until the
horse can move. 1t is the pain that makes
him dociie. He stands there patiently after
that and taxes the nails like an Old pine
board.
III this don't work though-as it often
does not with horses from the country-we
have another remedy. Do you see that
'twitch' yonder.7
The blacksmith nodded his head toward
carriage spoke dangling from the wall with
piece of clothes-line tied to the end OF it.
That is the most magical thing in horse
shoeing you ever saw We wrap that rope
around the beasts upper lip and man
stands continually at his heed holding the
spoke The latter is used as jack
Every time tie brute kicks new turn is
taken in The clothes-line until the beast gets
as much as he can stand. The fight, as a
rule, never lasts long. Alter a few turns
the most obstreperous kicker is knocked out
The pain at his nose draws his attention
away from his feet SO completely that |
think you could cut his leg OF and he would
not know it. Yes, sir; if it were not for the
twitch simple as it is-there would be lots
of horses unshod or blacksmiths walking
around with broken heads You may talk
about twisting a pigs tail or getting the
bulge on an elephant, but for bringing a
beast to his senses this little device beats any
thing that ever was made.
HORSES WITH BLOOD IN THEM.
"The worst horses to shoe entirely are
those that have what is known as blood in
them. Good stock will show itself in a black
smith shop every time l was shoeing
Freakness several years ago and was un-
aware of the fact until had wrestled with
him several minutes. He had cast shoe
while training at Pimlico and was brought
to a shop in northwest Baltimore where l
was employed The beast laid back his ears
and stood perfectly still until l had got hold
of him and was in the act of leveiing his
hoOf. Then he came down on me like
sledgehammer with both his thighs. His
eyes flashed and he stripped his teeth clear
back to his jaw joints When he felt me
weaken, ne drew back his leg like bow.
string, and, before l could recover, sent me
spraying into the dirt Luckily, there
was no shoe on his foot at the time, or l
might have received an imprint that would
have followed me to my grave. | have sew
eral marks now from horse kicks all over
my body. A man is never a horseshOer un-
til ne has the trade mark stamped upon his
countenance, they say.
in this part OF the city we shoe more
mules than any other kind of stock. Some
times we have as high as six in the shop
together They doe and doe here be
fore the fire until a red-hot cinder strikes
one of them, or perhaps goes tumbling
down his ear. Then there is fun. 1t
would have been just as safe to have
dropped spark into key of dyna-
mite, for u mulo never stops kioking until
there is nothing left in his vicinity for
twenty five feet all around. have seen a
mule glue his front feet down there to that
little hole in the pavement and feel all
round these rafters with his hind legs A
mule will Kick you when you are looking at
him or kick you when you are turning
away. 1t has always been the policy of
never to trust the animal, even
when he is dead.
Young horses are also very fiery, but
they generally come to terms after receiv-
ing the second set of shoes A horses SUI
preme intelli gence soon teaches him that
the operation is performed for his own
good and he submits to it. At first they
nave often to be led into a distant part of the
shop anda handkerchief puo over their eyes
20 shut out the sparks After few lessons
hey become accustomed to the sound of the
anvil, and it is hard to drive them past a
shop without letting them come in.
SOME TROUBLE WITH BAD MULE.
The most difficult case to shoe ever en-.
was in Chester county, Pennsyl-
'ania, several years ago man named Pugh |
aad two mu that he wanted shod. l was
not working at the business then, and the ami
mails was taken over to the shop at the |
cross roads The first blacksmith who came
,ut was kicked three times before his body |
struck the ground, and had both legs broken
The two mules were driven home and htl !
% 60 all winter without shoes, for there |
vas no blacksmith in the county who had |
courage enough to shoe them In the fol I
owing spring the owner built crib around |
,he bad mule and hired a man from a neigh
lorlng county to come down and shoe him !
The mule was tightly wedge1 in between |
he bars of the crib when the blacksmith |
,ame up At sight of the toolbox and the
apron the mule gave an un-
earthly yell and proceeded 20 kick the rear
nd OF tine crib away. One of his feet got |
through the airs, and before he could ex
,ricate himself three farm hands had seized it.
md in q few minutes the blacksmith was busy
on the shoe To put on the re-
three was found to be compare
lively easy.
Sometimes We have to string a horse up
lie is unusually stubborn. Three weeks
Igo We had case here in which we had to
Use that pulley up yonder. We tie the rope
round the leg below the knee joint, pass it
'ver the pulley and draw it tight The
east is thrown forward on his front feet
md rendered helpless. His remaining hind
eg is used to keep his body from falling.
d this predicament he becomes an easy
'ictim of the blacksmith.
YES, sir; it is not at all uncommon to
&c horse standing on two legs and two
pegging away at his remaining
oofs with all their might. This saves
line, you see. If we had a hammock to
wing under his belly we could stick all four
Il his shoes on at the same time.
"Horseshoeing has its redeeming side, al
hough it is pretty dangerous Our pay is
God; it is a healthy business, and after one
as worked at it a year or two he comes to
l.. H. L., !. - I
N good terms with a horse at first sight l
new a man who could overcome horse
ust 10y looking into his eyes and speaking
o him. Others can never so near the hind
uarters of a beast that has no blind on. -
,altimose American.
As eff the EiYal Candidate.