The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-03-20

sure no sensible man ever gave it as
a reason, and l am sure no one with
any practical experience would ever
believe it.
at is an operation that can be no
ticed by the most casual observer, and
instead of making cattle look BONNER
it has the very opposite effect. 1t has
been suggested to knob the horns OF
cattle instead of cutting them off, and
no doubt this is a partial remedy, but
only partial one; it does not so
effectually stop them from inJurlng
one another, and besides the knobs
are continually breaking and coming
off. Prof. Valley the other day, how
ever, made another suggestion. winch
shows, as a practical man, what his
opinion is worth. At a meeting of the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals he gravely suggested or
endorsed the suggestion that farmers
should breed only pOlled cattle. This
meant, not to mention other horned
brands, the entire suppression OF the,
whole Shorthorn and Ayrshire breeds
the former the greatest beef pro-
ducing breed of cattle in the world
and the latter the best adar ted for
dairy purposes. No such idea could
ever enter the mind of any one who
has bred animals himself, and seems
far more likely to have originated with
man who has spent the best OF his
days selling sweeties and perfumery
rather than to have come from the
principal of one of our veterinary col
leges. These absurd opinions and sug-
gestions must tend tC lower the vete-
rinary profession in the minds OF all
practical farmers"
THE SCIENCE OF HORSE sHOEING.
The following article from the Ken
lucky Stock Farm will be profitable
reading to every owner OF horse:
"The science of horse shoeing has
been subject to more abuse and neg
ligence than any other trade or pro-
fes; ion known. A great many think
that it does not require an operator OF
intelligence to be successful in It's
practice. These ideas and expressions
springing from the fossilized brains OF
old-time horse shoers and handed
down from generation to generation,
have been the great obstruction to the
advancement of science that must,
in time, be recognized and respected
by all lovers of that noble animal, the
1,I o. 70 hnt ! \
should be respected far enough by
owners and managers to prevent those
so-called shoers from barbarously
burning and unnecessarily cutting
away the horn OF the foot when at the
Jorge; and the only way to show that re-
spect is to allow only such men as have
u thorough knowledge of the anatomy
of the foot and limb, the requirements
of the different organs OF the foot and
leg, and the relation one part bears to
another, to shoe their horses; they
should also understand the different
actions OF horses, and the parts that
regulate those actions.
"When horsomcn will employ men
Of this kind only, you will find more
intelligent class OF shoers and fewer
lame horses. At the present time so
great is this army of uneducated
shoers that careful observers have es-
timated that 60 per cent OF the lame
and disabled horses in the United
States are made so by the unintelli-
gent methods Of preparing the foot to
receive the shoe. We see many So
called shoers who make a good shoe
and fit it well; but is the foot ready
and properly dressed to receive it?
Here is the great secret of success in
shoeing horses; that is, to understand
when the foot is in proper shape to
have a shoe attached to it. Why do
shoers neglect this duty, which they
owe to the horse and the owner? Be-
cause it would require hard study and
careful reflection upon a subject shat
would be too great for most of them
to waste their valuable time to con-
slider.
"a good sheer should understand
the general construction of the foot
and its requirements, its susceptibility
to disease and injury, and the treat
ment of the diseases and accidents
The horses foot is heir to; he should
also know when the foot stands in a
proper position relative to the limb.
This knowledge, with mechanical
skill and good judgement, is the first
and necessary quality that a sheer
should possess. If he does possess it.,
you will do well to trust your horse in
his care; in other words, take him to
a sheer who takes enough interest in
his trade or profession to inform HIM
self in regard TO the science, thereby
insuring safety and comfort to your
horse and profit to yourself.
"a great many ideas have been a l.
vanced, some OF them good, others
erroneous; so that when writer
) comes before the public with new
theory or idea Il great many will say
! that the old way is good enough.
Why do they say this? Because they
think il they go to sheer with ad-
vanced ideas they will be obliged to
, pay few cents more for the work.
This ia not inst tO VOIIr hnrSo nor