Nature will adapt herself to circumstances. Horses bred in Canadas or low swampy grounds have broad, flat feet. The dampness of the soil keeps the horn soft, and the weight of the horse expands it. Besides, there is nothing hard to wear down the hoof—all the better for the horse as long as he has to go on wet, soft ground; the extensive surface of his foot gives him more support; but these kinds of hoofs need a good deal of dressing. We generally used a chisel and mallet, making the horse stand on a hard bit of ground, and cutting the hoof, sometimes only at the toe, but more frequently at the sides also. In the northern provinces the natives often cut them square at the toe. Our favourite horses generally got a finishing touch with rasp and draw knife. The hind feet seldom required much doing to them. In dry weather the hoofs get very hard, and the mallet must be used with considerable force. White hoofs are much softer than black ones. With a moderately tame horse there is very little trouble connected with keeping his feet in good order. The rasp and draw knife are all that is needed, and hard ground will keep them in good shape without much labour expended on them. Although I have not tried the experiment in this country, I have little doubt of its success. Keep a young horse’s feet trim, and use him in the fields at first, and then by degrees on the hard road, and his hoofs will soon suit themselves to the nature of the ground. Fortunately our ancestors did not shoe their dogs and cats, or, in all probability, most of us would do so in the present day.
Of course the veterinaries and smiths will, in self-defence, predict utter ruination to the feet of unshod horses, and 80 per cent of horse owners will refuse to give up shoeing because it was never done in the old days, and they cannot be bothered with trying anything
