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HORSE-SHOES
AND HORSE-SHOEING.
CHAPTER I.
the value of the horse as a living machine depends to a great extent upon his feet. the care of them by ancient people. xenophon and his advice. the necessity for sound feet. history of the art of shoeing. the hoof in a natural state. effects of domestication and climate. the persians, ethiopians, abyssinians, tartars, mongols, and other nations. the greeks. difficulty in tracing the origin of shoeing. scriptural times. homer, and ‘brazen-footed.’ tryphiodorus. bronze shoes, and shoeless hoofs. xenophon on the management of horses' feet. aristotle. polydore vergil. the greek marbles. climate of greece. effects of marching. translators' and commentators' mistakes. arrian and artemidorus. the coin of tarentum.
The horse is justly considered, even in these days, when the application of steam power has to a certain extent limited some of his more important functions, one of the most tractable and serviceable living machines, viewing him as a motor, ever pressed into slavery by man, and consequently ranks high above all those crea-
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