and for, at the same time, giving us his excellent remedy by not shoeing at all, or to use only a ‘tip.’ I have the management of thirty draught horses, whose work is entirely on stone paved roads. They run about eighteen miles a day, and at the rate of six miles an hour, including stoppages. So that you can imagine what a severe shaking their legs and feet would get with an ordinary shoe (which weighs about thirty-two ounces) attached to each foot. The horses would continually brush and cut the fetlock with the shoe of the opposite foot, and very soon go over at the knees; and how was I to prevent it? Rest would often check it, as regards cutting and brushing the fetlock, for a day or two; but I have to study economy, and cannot, in consequence, keep a sufficient number of horses to rest them every third or fourth day. They have to be satisfied with one day’s rest per week. Some of your readers may say, why do I drive them so fast? Well, because it is a kind of business which will not allow of driving slowly.
On visiting a railway book-stall, I saw on the front page of the ‘Farm Journal,’ ‘Horses—Their Management and Mismangement.’ I naturally wanted to know if I was numbered with those who mismanaged, and, on reading the paper, I very soon found out that I must consider myself as one of such. I also found that ‘Free Lance’ was writing from practical experience when he recommended that the horse should be driven barefoot, or with only a short piece of iron ‘curled round the toe,’ therefore I lost no time in sending sixpence to Mr. Stevens for his pamphlet advocating the use of the Charlier shoe—a shoe which I had not heard of before to my knowledge.
After reading the pamphlet, and seeing that a horse could go with the frog on the ground, I at once sent 7s. 6d.
