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CHAPTER XVI.

CUSTOM OF H. JENNINGS OF TRAIONG RACEHORSES UNSHOD, AND RUNNING THEM IN THEIR RACES WITH TIPS ON THEIR FORE FEET, WITH THE HIND FEET BARE—‘EVENING STANDARD,’ INSTANCE OF IMPAIRED SIGHT IN A YOUNG LADY FROM WEARING HIGH HEELS ON HER BOOTS—MANY DISEASES OF HORSES MAY BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO ILL-TREATMENT OF THEIR FEET—CARIES OF THE TEETH IS KNOWN TO AFFECT A HORSE’S ACTION—VETERINARY DENTISTS IN AMERICA—CRIB-BITERS, WIND-SUCKERS, AND WEAVERS—LETTER OF A CAVALRY OFFICER IN ‘DAILY TELEGRAPH’—HIS FAVOURABLE EXPERIENCE OF TIPS AND UNSHOD HORSES.

As a proof of the great diversity of ideas and opinions on the difference between the fore feet and the hind ones, as to which of the pairs should be most protected, or whether either of them should be protected at all, we will give an extract from ‘Twenty Years on the Turf,’ in the ‘Sportsman,’ in which a description of the establishment of Mr. H. Jennings, the well-known trainer of racehorses, at Bac de la Croix, Compiègne, is given:—

‘Mr. Jennings has as many horses under his care as any other trainer in either France or England. One peculiarity about the horses in the La Croix stable is that the majority of them are unshod, while in training. Mr. Jennings is enabled to adopt this