The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1905-03-03
VETERINARY
LAW is WORTHY
Law Regulating Blacksmiths
And Terriers Is Also
Needed.

One Of the best laws passed by the
present Legislature is an act to regulate
the practice OF veterinary medicine in the
State. The law provides for a compe-
tent examining board. who shall be
qualified veterinary surgeons, graduates
of recognized veterinary colleges, who
have had five years actual experience.
The law, II enforced. will bar the
many quack "horse doctors" that infest
the state, and who are driven from other
States which have such laws. The
State is not put to one cent OF expense
in the examinations or maintaining of
the board.
The criticism that make is that the
law only applies 60 counties having a
population of 10000 or more, which in
cludes only Davidson, Shelby, Maury.
Knox and Hamilton-too bad it does
not apply to the entire State, SO that
under its provisions our best friend,
the horse, could be relieved of suffering
by men thoroughly competent, instead
of in most cases, especially in the small
or towns, by would-be horse doctors,
quacks and fakirs maltreating the poor
dumb brutes, who are unable to convey
their disgust and disapproval IN words.
Why would it not have been good
idea to require farriers and horseshoers
to be examined and instructed IN the
simple art of properly trimming and
shoeing horses? This could have been
embodied ia the bill, as it certainly is in
measure, a part of veterinary eurgery
to properly trim and level horses
foot-and feel sure DIR. George White,
the veterinary who worked so assiduous-
ly for the. passage of the measure, over
looked one of the greatest causes for the
wearing out of the horse-the reguIa.
ting of horseshoeing. Have you ever
noticed that all the farriers have their
signs read scientific Horseshoer?"
Ye gods, what does the word "scientif-
ic" mean to these men? Certainly not
more than one out of ten of the social
ed scientific shoers" would be allowed
to operate under such law. Look
around you every day and see the great
number Of horses on the streets that are
in misery-but have no way to show it
because their feet are propped up on
high calks and their feet thrown out of
angle, some of them limp, others "foror"
their feet, as Plummer Webster (Trot-
woods ''Old Wash") would say The
society girl should certainly sympathize
with our i'll shod horses, for while she
looks pretty in her high -heeled shoes,
she does not look comfortable or sensi-
BILE
The old saying: "No frog, no foot
nc foot, no horse" is too true.
believe it is not exaggeration when
| say 80 per cent. of the broken.down
and useless torses are made so by i'm
proper shoeing aDd lack of care of the
feet. Horses, 10 their native state and
unshod, have fine feet, with naturally
wide heels and healthy live frog-soft
and rubDer-like which comes in con
tact with the ground. receives the Jar
and serves as a cushions; but let the
scientific shoers" get hold of them
and the result-too often the case con-
tracted heels, co-ns, hard AMI dimin-
lshed frogs, consequently crippled
horses. We cannot pay too much at
Sentlon to our horses feet. The fault
les in the blacksmith shop, and should
De regulated by law. L. is simple !
matter, and we should see that our no.
Die brute friends are properly shod, and !
hat their feet have common sense at
;entlon Robert McGregor in Nash
vile American.