TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 
 3 9090 014 550 392 
 
HORSE AND MAE" 
 
 • THEIR MUTUAL DEPENDENCE 
 AND DUTIES 
 
 BY THE 
 
 EEV. J: G. WOOD 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 'HO.UES WITHOUT HAiNDS' 'BIBLE ANIMALS' ETC. 
 
 y*"* -7 median 
 
 CumrmngsS • ^ry Medicine at 
 
 Turts University 
 
 200 Westboro Road 
 
 North Grafton, MA 01536 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. b. lipTincott COMPANY. 
 
 18 86. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Although this work treats of the Horse, it is not 
 1 horsey,' because I am not a horsey man. Horsiness 
 has no place in it, and, for a time at least, will 
 probably be in opposition to it. I only ask the reader 
 to bear in mind that I pretend to no discoveries, 
 and advance no theories. I simply state facts, offer 
 evidence of those facts, adduce proofs of that 
 evidence, state how and where these proofs can 
 be verified, and then leave the impartial reader to 
 draw his own conclusions. 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The hoof as distinct from the foot — Dependence of one part on the 
 others — Skeleton of the horse — Story of ' Orlando ' — Use of 
 scientific language — The spine and the limbs — The legs of the 
 horse compared with the limbs of man — Gradual development 
 of the horse — The anchitherium and hipparion — Structure of 
 the fore-limb, or arm — Rotation of the fore- arm prevented — 
 Small size of the original horse — An eight-hoofed horse — 
 Hind legs of the horse compared with the legs of man — The 
 true knee of the horse — Elasticity of the structure . . . 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Connection between the foot and the hoof — Extent of the foot — 
 "What is horn ? — Original dwelling-place of the horse — Climb- 
 ing powers of the horse — Requisites of the hoof — Strength, 
 because it has to bear the weight of so heavy an animal — 
 Lightness, lest the horse should have to lift needless weight 
 — The ' coffin ' bone and its structure — Hardness, to endure 
 contact with bad ground — Sharpness, round edge to enable 
 the horse to climb — Clinging, to suit smooth and slippery 
 ground — Self-repairing, for restoration of worn material : 
 the Wall, Frog, and Sole — Structure of the wall — The horny 
 laminae — Their origin and mode of growth — Over-grown hoofs 
 — Elasticity begins with angle of pastern — The prog, its posi- 
 tion, structure, and office — Analogies between Nature and 
 human inventions — The sole : its structure and double office . 22 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Internal structure of the hoof — The hoof compared with the Jac- 
 quard loom — Longitudinal section of pastern — The ' navicular ' 
 bone : its origin, form, and office — The tendons — Flexor and 
 extensor muscles and their tendons — The 'coronary ' ring and 
 its object — The hoof of the horse and the nail of man — The 
 ' quick ' of the nail — The ' sensitive ' or ' vascular ' laminee — 
 Mutual dependence of the horny and vascular laminae — 
 Analogy of laminae of whalebone and those of hoof — Expansive 
 property of hoof — Mr. Miles's experiments — Advantage of this 
 property in a hunter — Effect of shoes in leaping — In any pace 
 the heel comes on the ground before the toe — Importance of 
 this fact 38 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Expansion acknowledged, acted upon, and perverted — Authorised 
 directions for shoeing — ' Thinning ' and ' opening ' — Horse- 
 shoeing in England and America — 'Dew-drops,' i.e. oozing 
 blood — The diseases called by the name of 'thrush' — True 
 causes of thrush — Supply of blood to hoof — Nature's balance 
 of supply and waste — Office of the blood — ' Thrush ' a safety- 
 valve for inflamed blood — Derivation of the word ' founder ' — 
 'Thrush' never seen in wild horses — A comprehensive chal- 
 lenge — Where do wild horses keep their knives ? — The frog 
 " again — Lieutenant Douglas on the frog and its value. Mr. T. 
 Gepp's experience 56 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The frog continued — ' Hammering ' on the roads — Cause of the 
 hammering — King Theodore's horse ' Hammel ' — Elasticity of 
 the frog — The ' Village Blacksmith ' — The bicycle wheel — 
 Analogy between carriage springs and the horse's hoof — 
 Lodgment of stones — Mr. S. Cbapin and his bare-footed horse 
 — Hartmann's safety pad — Spiked shoes — American shoeing — 
 Injury to the untouched frog impossible — ' Greasy ' roads — 
 Manchester 'lurry' horses — The streets of Manchester — A 
 doctor's horses — Shoes of lurry horses — Ludgate Hill and its 
 terrors — Lieut. Douglas's testimony — Indiarubber soles on ice 
 and on board ship — The hoof an organ of touch — Mr. J. 
 Bellows's story — ' Free Lances' view of the frog and its uses 
 — Relative dependence of the frog and navicular bone . . 69 
 
CONTENTS XI 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Horseshoeing on ' improved principles ' — Hot-fitting — ' Clips ' and 
 their origin — Groove cutting in the hoof — Natural thatch of 
 the coronet — Natural varnish of the hoof — Abuse of the rasp 
 — Blacking hoofs — Effect of grease on the hoof — 4 Stopping ' 
 hoofs — The ' bottle of oils ' — Its effect on the hoof — Drugs in 
 stables — Horses poisoned — Thirty thus lost by one owner — 
 Anti-drug Association — The rashness of ignorance ... 86 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The shoe — Artificial roads and artificial protection — Variety in 
 roads — Straw shoes of Japan — Raw hide or ' parfleche ' shoes 
 of North American Indians — Shoe nails — Their ordinary size 
 and number employed — Diminishing thickness of wall — An 
 old Scotch law — The ' unilateral 'system — A hoof prepared on 
 the ' improved system ' — A mangled hoof restored by Nature 
 — The dangers of shoe nails — Cut nails and forged nails — A 
 remarkable accident — Effect of a heavy shoe on the horse — 
 ' Marden ' and the dead heat — Effect of a heavy shoe on the 
 muscles — Lancashire clops and French sabots — Cetewayo and 
 followers in England — The ' lurry ' horses and their shoes — 
 Lieut. Douglas's calculations — Loosened hoofs . . . 101 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The calk, or calkin — Horses on pattens — Two strange accidents — 
 Calks in America — Supposed uses of the calk — Sir. Bowditch's 
 testimony — Weight thrown on the edge of the coffin bone — 
 High-heeled boots and their effects — The battle of the shoes — ■ 
 Recognition of defects in shoeing — The Goodenough shoe and 
 its object — Jointed shoes — The Clark jointed shoe— The screw 
 shoe — Expansion and contraction — The effect of the screw on 
 the hoof — Tips, and how to fasten them — The Charlier, or 
 'pre-plantar ' shoe — How to apply it — Usually too large and 
 in danger of breaking and twistinjr — Best length and weight 
 for a Charlier shoe — Man versus Nature — A series of happy 
 thoughts — Their results upon each portion of the hoof . . 116 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The shoe useful in proportion to its lightness — Therefore, the best 
 shoe seems to be none at all — Capability of the human foot — 
 Value of an army dependent on its marching power — Lord 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Wolseley's axiom — Edinburgh lasses — Moccasin vei'sus boot — 
 Mansfield Parky ns in Abyssinia — Ladies and children at the 
 sea-side — Charles Waterton in Guiana — Col. Dodge's account 
 of the North American Indian's pony — A race between the 
 Indian's pony and the high-bred horse — Exmoor and Dartmoor 
 ponies — Description of these ' moors ' — How to make a horse's 
 hoof tender — The hoof an organ of all-work — Saddle and 
 draught — Col. Burnaby's opinion ...... 142 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Unshod horses now at work — Dr. Llewellyn's horse on London 
 roads — Thirteen thousand miles without shoes — Always went 
 lame when shod — His transfer to Mr. A. F. Astley — Mr. 
 Astley's horse 'Tommy' — State of his hoofs when bought — 
 Process of training — Work done by him unshod on hard 
 roads— Photographs of his hoofs — Mr. Whitmore Baker's 
 mare 'Stella' — Facts versus theory — Photographs of 'Stella' 
 and her hoofs — Letters from Mr. Baker — Work done by 
 ' Stella ' barefooted — Galloping over ice or loose stones — Mr. 
 Baker's offer to enable other horses to work unshod — His 
 preparation for hoofs and its possible value — Influence of 
 external conditions on the hoof — The condemned tramcar 
 horse — Result of removing the shoes — Five hundred and forty 
 miles unshod — Photograph of the hoof in transitional state — 
 Mistaken benevolence 158 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Hardening and renovating the hoof — Variety in hoofs — Thrush 
 concealed by shoe — Dr. Brierley's horses — Horses in Italy — 
 Mr. Theodore E. Williams's horse ' Prince ' — Lame when shod 
 — Experiment on another horse, and result — Mr. Herbert 
 Smith's experiments — Altered shape of hoof— Need of per- 
 severance — Xenophon's rules for hardening the hoof— General 
 summary of the subject 178 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Professional Eye — Fashion and nature — The curb — Weight and 
 size of bit — The bearixg-rein — Three kinds of bearing-rein — 
 The gag bearing-rein — Mechanical parallel — The over-head 
 rein — Neck of the horse — Great ligament of the neck and its 
 attachments — Vertebrae of neck and spine — Vertebrae and 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 railway buffers — Arrangement of a train — The martingale — 
 Rattling of harness and tossing of heads — Sir Arthur Helps' 
 opinion — Effect of the gag bearing-rein on the spine and feet — 
 The ' burr ' bit of America — Mr. Henry Bergh's work — The 
 locomotive and the horse 198 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The bearing-rein continued — The locomotive and the brake — Proba- 
 tion of an engine driver — The bearing-rein and the break — 
 Leading reins converted into bearing-reins — Railway companies 
 and the bearing-rein — Theories as to the bearing-rein — Its 
 supposed use in preventing the horse from falling — Bearing- 
 reins and hills — Harness in Scotland — The bearing-rein in 
 Bristol — Mr. Cracknell's testimony — The bearing-rein and 
 runaway horses — A grievous experience — The shoulder injured 
 by the bearing-rein — Testimony of more than a hundred veteri- 
 nary surgeons — 'Roaring' caused by the bearing-rein — Mis- 
 taken zeal — Summary — 'Free Lance's' check for a runaway 
 horse . . . " 222 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The blinker and its supposed uses — Cropping of ears — Alleged 
 necessity for cropping — Contradictory temperament of the 
 horse — Courage and timidity — Inquisitiveness — Rarey's prin- 
 ciple — The kettle-drummer's horse — Mr. C. H. Tamplin's 
 experience — Obstinacy of a coachman — Value of the 'master's 
 eye '— Waterton at Walton Hall— Letter from ' C. F. W.' to 
 the Field newspaper — ' Jockeying ' adviser — Modified blinkers 
 — Eye of the horse — Cruel superstitions — The third eyelid, or 
 'nictitating membrane,' and its use — The groom's rashness and 
 its effects 244 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The mane and the practice of ' hogging ' — The tail and its office — 
 "What man does to the tail — Docking — A puzzled JP. — The 
 professional eye again — Docking and lock-jaw — Nicking — An 
 unexpected ally — 'Conducive to human safety' — The tail and 
 the crupper — Winter and summer coats of the horse — Clipping 
 and singeing — American horses in winter — Fashion with man 
 and horse — The groom's real reason for clipping — Mayhew and 
 Lupton's opinions of clipping — The ' moulting ' of birds . . 264 
 
XIV CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The lungs of the horse and their comparative size — Their shape 
 and position — Their demand for air — Defective stables — Venti- 
 lation — A shining coat — The stomach of the horse and its 
 small size — Comparison with the stomach of the ox — Mistakes 
 in feeding — Result of over-loading the stomach — Experience 
 of a veterinary surgeon — Water, when to give, and how much 
 — Traditions of trainers — A Turkish custom — Purity of water 
 and water vessels — Sloping floors and their evils — The loco- 
 motive and the horse again — A sloping couch — The manger 
 and drinking trough — Structure of the head and throat — The 
 stable door — Width of stalls — 'Weaving' and crib-biting — 
 The electric manger 287 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The horse and the locomotive again — ' Vice ' in horses and its in- 
 variable cause — Mayhew's opinion — Vice in cavalry horses — 
 The soldier and the ' irreclaimable ' savage — New mode of 
 treatment. — Apparent failure and ultimate success — A relapse 
 when in strange hands — Another ' irreclaimable ' savage — 
 Story of ' Fly,' ' The Baroness ' and ' War Eagle,' all three 
 being New Zealand horses — The horse's capacity for affection 
 — Its peculiar love for man — The horse a gregarious animal — 
 Bulgarian horses — ' Spoiled ' horses — The horse's desire to 
 obey man — A circus horse — Gilpin redivivus — Cavalry horses 
 and their habits of obedience — The old horse at a review — 
 Disbanded horses in a thunderstorm — The 14th Hussars at the 
 Cape — Escape of their horses — An amateur review without 
 officers — Muster of loose and wounded horses after battle — Mr. 
 Luck's horse— Imprisoned in winter — Endurance of the horse — 
 ' Sam ' and his tricks ••■•••■• SOQ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 As the reader may have inferred from the Preface, 
 this work has nothing to do with the horse as an 
 instrument of sport. Neither will anything be found 
 in it with relation to the breeding of horses, or with 
 their technical ' points ; ' with buying and selling, 
 with the tricks of trade (which, by the way, are not 
 one whit worse than the tricks of any other trade), 
 nor with medical and surgical treatment. 
 
 Let the breeding of horses be left to those whose 
 long experience (tempered with a little fresh blood 
 from an outsider) enables them to supply from the 
 same original source the elephantine cart horse, the 
 light and swift racer, the sturdy cob for general 
 service, the pony for our young people, or that 
 wonderful combination of speed and power which 
 carries its rider to the front in the hunting field. 
 
 Let the horse trade be left to those who under- 
 
 a 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 stand the ever-shifting vagaries of fashion, and who 
 are familiar with the various ' points ' which give a 
 fictitious value to the horse as they do to the dog, 
 the canary, the rose, the dahlia, or the tulip. 
 
 Let the medical and surgical treatment of the 
 horse be left to those who have been trained in an 
 acknowledged veterinary college, and who can pro- 
 duce the diploma which testifies to their scientific 
 and practical capability. Nowhere do I presume to 
 instruct the veterinary surgeon. On the contrary, 
 I urge, throughout the work, that no one ought to 
 be allowed to administer the mildest of drugs, or to 
 perform the slightest of operations, unless he be 
 legally qualified to do so. 
 
 Throughout the work I draw a parallel between 
 the horse and the steam-engine, and try to show that 
 those who have the management of the former or 
 the latter will be adapted to their task in proportion 
 to their knowledge. It is not needful that this know- 
 ledge should comprise those details which belong to 
 pure science. 
 
 There is not the least necessity that an engine- 
 driver should be learned in the chemical constituents 
 of the metals of which the engine is constructed, of 
 the fuel which is consumed, or of the water which 
 is converted into steam. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV11 
 
 But it is necessary for an efficient engine-driver 
 to know the amount of strain which iron, steel, bell- 
 metal, and brass can bear, and why these metals 
 should be used in their respective places. It is 
 necessary that he shall be able to distinguish the 
 different qualities of coal, and to know how much 
 steam can be raised by a given quantity of fuel. 
 
 ' Engine and man,' in fact, must go together, and 
 so must ' horse and man.' Therefore, the reader will 
 not find his time wasted by anatomical minutige which 
 do not bear on the practical management of the 
 horse, and I have contented myself with slightly 
 describing the general structure of the animal, and 
 giving such details of the foot, hoof, neck, lungs, and 
 stomach as ought to be known by every one who 
 possesses, or has the management of, a horse. 
 
 In civilised countries, horse and man are inse- 
 parable. Neither can exist without the other, and 
 each owes a duty to the other. Take any large city, 
 deprive the horse of the services of man, and in a 
 fortnight at the most not a horse would be left alive. 
 In the same city, deprive the man of the services of 
 the horse, and he would lose much of his civilisation, 
 being forced to work with his body instead of his 
 mind. 
 
 There is, however, one fundamental distinction 
 
XV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 between the two beings. Man has his choice of 
 action, whereas the horse has none, so that the chief 
 responsibility is thrown upon man. Man can teach 
 the horse, but the horse, unfortunately for itself, 
 cannot teach man. 
 
 Each owes a duty to the other. 
 
 Man is bound to afford to the horse the food and 
 shelter which it needs, and which it cannot pro- 
 cure without his aid. On the other side, in return 
 for its means of existence, the horse is bound to give 
 to man the benefit of its labour. In the following 
 pages I have endeavoured to show how horse and 
 man can be fellow-workers instead of master and 
 slave, how the life of the horse can be prolonged as 
 much as possible, and how the animal can be enabled 
 to do the maximum of work during its lifetime. 
 

 HOESE and MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The hoof as distinct from the foot — Dependence of one part on the 
 others — Skeleton of the horse — Story of ' Orlando ' — Use of scientific 
 language — The spine and the limbs — The legs of the horse com- 
 pared with the limbs of man — Gradual development of the horse — 
 The anchitherium and hipparion — Structure of the fore-limb, or arm 
 — Rotation of the fore-arm prevented — Small size of the original 
 horse — An eight-hoofed horse — Hind legs of the horse compared 
 with the legs of man — The true knee of the horse — Elasticity of the 
 structure. 
 
 We will begin with the foot. This may seem simple 
 enough, but it is really a question of great com- 
 plexity. 
 
 In the first place I suppose that at least ninety- 
 nine persons out of a hundred take for granted that 
 the hoof and the foot are identical, and that the 
 former is a solid lump of hard horn, upon which 
 an iron shoe can be nailed, in order to protect it 
 against artificial roads. They also have a vague 
 idea that the hoof is an isolated portion of the horse's 
 frame, and has no definite connection with any other 
 part. 
 
 B 
 
Z HOKSE AND MAX. 
 
 Now, in the first place, the hoof is not the foot, 
 but only the extremity of a portion of the foot. In 
 the second place, instead of being a lump of horn, 
 it is one of the most elaborate pieces of mechanism 
 in the whole of the animal kingdom. In the third 
 place, it is an integral portion of an entire and 
 symmetrical organisation ; each part being connected 
 with and dependent upon all the others, and all 
 subservient to the great object of procuring food. 
 
 No one part could be altered without changing 
 all the others. To put an extreme case : — Suppose 
 that the teeth of the horse were exchanged for those 
 of the lion, the hoof would be useless, as it could 
 not secure living prey. The stomach would be use- 
 less, because it would be incapable of digesting raw 
 flesh, and the teeth, from their structure, would be 
 unable to masticate, and therefore could not chew 
 grass. 
 
 Conversely, if the hoof were exchanged for lion's 
 paws and talons, they would be quite unsuited to the 
 pastures in which the horse finds its food, and so the 
 teeth would have to be altered. 
 
 Now let us see what is the general structure of 
 the horse, and what relationship is borne to it by 
 the hoof. The accompanying illustration represents 
 the bony framework of the horse. It was drawn 
 from the skeleton of the celebrated racehorse 
 
SKELETON OF THE HORSE. 
 
 'Orlando,' who won the Derby in 1844, the year 
 of the famous ' Eunning Eein ' swindle. 
 
 As the details of this race may not be familiar to 
 the present generation, I will briefly mention them. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 H0E5E AXD MAN. 
 
 Most people know that the ' Derby ' is intended 
 for three-year-old animals, although a French 
 writer does tell us that a certain horse won the 
 Derby three times successively. Among the horses 
 which were entered was one called ' Eunning Eein.' 
 For that animal, a four-year- old horse called ' Mac- 
 cabams ' was substituted under the same name, and 
 won the race. The fraud, however, was discovered, 
 and great scandal arose in consequence. The result 
 was that ' Haccabaeus ' was disqualified, and the race 
 was awarded to ' Orlando,' who ran second. (Paren- 
 thetically I take the opportunity of wishing that 
 two years could be added to the age, a mile to the 
 course, and considerable addition made to the weight.) 
 
 The skeleton is in the Museum of the Royal 
 College of Surgeons, and, like many other figures in 
 this work, was drawn by the kind permission of Pro- 
 fessor \Y. H. Flower, of the British Museum, who 
 was then curator of the wonderful museum in Lin- 
 coln's Inn Fields, and to whom I return most cordial 
 thanks for his kindly assistance. 
 
 We will first take a general survey of the skeleton, 
 and then review each part in detail. 
 
 I shall in the course of this work avoid as far 
 as possible the use of purely scientific language. It 
 is not written for pupils of the Pioyal Veterinary 
 College, nor for persons skilled in comparative 
 
SCIENTIFIC TERMS. 
 
 anatomy. It is intended for the use of all those who 
 possess or who have charge of horses, and therefore 
 will be couched in lan^ua^e which can be understood 
 by all persons of ordinary education. 
 
 Scientific terms, however, cannot be entirely 
 ignored in anatomy any more than in other subjects. 
 
 For example, it would be impossible to give the 
 most superficial idea of the carpenter's art without 
 employing such terms as { mortice,' ; tenon,' ' rabbet- 
 ing,' ' mitre,' and a hundred other technical words. 
 Similarly, nautical terms are quite unintelhgible to 
 an ordinary landsman, and yet it would be impossible 
 to work a ship, or even to sail a five-ton cutter, 
 without knowing the meaning of such expressions as 
 'luff,'' 'jibe,' ' topping lift,' -port,' ; starboard,' 'wear,' 
 'in stays.' &c. 
 
 So, in describing the structure of the horse, many 
 technical words must be employed, but in every case 
 they will be fully explained when first used. 
 
 I will now ask the reader to examine the skeleton 
 in general. All vertebrates are constructed on the 
 same principle ; modified, or ' differentiated' in detail 
 according to the life which the animal is intended 
 to lead. The only essential skeleton of a vertebrate 
 
6 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 animal consists of a skull followed by a series of 
 vertebras. 
 
 Limbs are only appendages ; many vertebrates, 
 such as the generality of the snake tribe, not possess- 
 ing them. Even ribs are not necessary for existence, 
 as we see is the case with the frogs, in which animals 
 the ribs are totally absent. So, following the order 
 of nature, we will first take the skull and vertebras. 
 
 A represents the skull itself, b is the eye-hole 
 {orbit), c is the upper jaw (superior maxillary), d are 
 the nasal bones — i.e. the bones of the nose, e is the 
 lower jaw (inferior maxillary), e is the ear-hole (audi- 
 tory foramen). 
 
 As to the teeth, the reader will observe that there 
 is a considerable gap between the canine teeth, or 
 1 tusks,' and the molars, or grinders. Were it not for 
 this gap, the bit could not be inserted in the mouth, 
 and man would lose his most powerful means of 
 guiding the animal. 
 
 B comprises the neck bones (nuchal or cervical 
 vertebras). These are always seven in number in the 
 mammalia, no matter what the length of the neck 
 may be. Whether the neck may belong to the giraffe, 
 which feeds on tree-leaves eighteen feet from the 
 ground, or whether it be the property of the whale, 
 which has no perceptible neck at all, the nuchal 
 vertebra? are seven in number. In the former animal 
 
VERTEBRAE. 7 
 
 they are greatly elongated, while in the latter they 
 are flattened and fused together. Those of the horse 
 are intended to give flexibility to the neck, and to 
 assist in ' clothing it with thunder.' 
 
 The vertebra marked / is called the ' atlas,' be- 
 cause in man this vertebra supports the head, as the 
 mythical giant Atlas was said to support the earth ; 
 while g is called the ' axis,' because it is so con- 
 structed as to enable the animal to turn its head. 
 
 These seven vertebras are represented on a larger 
 scale in the illustration on page 8. The reader 
 will observe that the bones are furnished with pro- 
 jections. These are intended partly for the attach- 
 ment of the muscles, and partly for the branches of 
 the great ligament that runs over the back of the 
 neck and supports the head. This ligament and its 
 attachments will be seen when we treat of the neck 
 in connection with the bearing rein. 
 
 Next come the eighteen vertebras of the back, or 
 ' dorsal ' vertebras, each having a long flattened pro- 
 cess. The reader will notice that some of these 
 processes lean backwards, while others are directed 
 forwards. Between them are several which are up- 
 right, and upon them is the proper place for the 
 saddle. 
 
 Then there are the six vertebras of the loins 
 {lumbar vertebrce), followed by six vertebras called 
 
8 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ' sacral.' They are fused together, and are termed 
 the ' sacrum.' To this portion of the spine the hip, 
 or ' pelvic,' bones are attached. 
 
 VERTEBRA OE NECK. 
 
 Lastly, come the vertebrae of the tail, or ' caudal ' 
 vertebras. These are rather variable in number, but 
 
 on the average are fifteen. 
 
THE FORE-LIMBS. \) 
 
 Now we will take the appendages of the vertebras. 
 
 In front of the body is the breast-bone, or 'sternum/ 
 The ribs are divided into two sets. First come the 
 ' true ribs,' which are connected directly with the 
 sternum, and then come the ' false ribs,' which are 
 indirectly connected with the sternum by gristle (or 
 cartilage). 
 
 Lastly we come to the limbs. They are formed 
 of the same bones as those which constitute the arms 
 and legs of man, but as they are intended to perform 
 different offices, the bones are greatly modified in 
 structure. 
 
 We will begin with the fore- leg, which is analo- 
 gous to the arm of man. First comes the shoulder- 
 blade (scapula), which, except that it is much longer 
 in proportion to its width, is not very different from 
 that of man. But, in proportion as we pass from the 
 shoulder to the toe, we shall find the modifications 
 of form more and more strongly marked. So, the 
 upper arm-bone (humerus) is very different from that 
 of man. 
 
 "With man, the whole weight of the body is 
 supported on the hinder hmbs, the arms being set 
 free for particular purposes. The humerus of man, 
 therefore, is long, and comparatively slight. But 
 such a bone would be absolutely useless in a horse, 
 where it has to bear the weight of the fore-part of 
 
10 
 
 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 the body, plus the heavy neck and head, and would 
 inevitably be shattered at the first leap. 
 
 Therefore, the humerus of the horse (see J in the 
 figure) is short, thick, and set in a sloping direction, 
 so as to avoid a direct shock as the animal alights from 
 its leap. The reader will notice 
 that the lower end of this bone 
 is enlarged, expanded, and very 
 deeply grooved. 
 
 Next come the two bones of 
 the fore-arm, k being the large 
 bone (radius), and L the small 
 bone (ulna). Both terms are Latin, 
 the former signifying the spoke of 
 a wheel, and the latter an arm. 
 
 Here is a bolder modification 
 than in the humerus. 
 
 It is necessary for man that 
 he should be able to rotate the 
 hand, and therefore the two arm- 
 bones are free at their extremities, and so constructed 
 that they can partially roll over each other. But, 
 for the hand of the horse to be capable of rotation 
 would be an element of weakness, and therefore the 
 bones are so modified that they can only be moved 
 directly backwards and forwards. The ulna, there- 
 fore, is very much reduced in size, and does not 
 
 LEFT ARM (HUMAN.) 
 
THE ' KXEE ' OF THE HORSE. 11 
 
 nearly reach to the lower end of the radius, to which 
 it is fused so as practically to form a single bone. 
 The upper end is prolonged, flattened, and plays in 
 the groove at the lower end of the humerus, so that 
 no rotation is possible. The prolonged portion forms 
 the elbow of the horse {olecranon). 
 
 In order to show this structure more clearly, the 
 joint is given on a much larger scale on page 12. Here 
 A represents the lower end of the humerus with its 
 double head and central groove ; B is the radius, 
 and c the ulna. The reader will here see how it is 
 fused into the radius, and how its flattened prolonga- 
 tion plays up and down in the groove. D is the 
 olecranon, or elbow. 
 
 Descending still lower, we find the bones of the 
 wrist {carpus), or 'knee' as it is popularly called. 
 These are much the same as those of the human wrist, 
 except that they are simpler in structure. 
 
 Now, however, we find a most radical change. 
 Compare the bones of the human hand with those of 
 the horse. No resemblance seems at first sight to 
 exist between them ; yet we know that, different as 
 they may seem, they are composed of the same 
 elements. In order to solve this problem we must 
 have recourse to geology and comparative anatomy. 
 
 The former science shows us that the horse of the 
 present period is the last of a long series, extending 
 
12 
 
 HOKSE AND MAN. 
 
 through successive geological epochs and undergoing 
 determinate modifications, so as to bring it in accord 
 with its surroundings. Five or six links of this chain 
 have already been discovered, and in all probability 
 others will come to light. I shall only mention three 
 of these links. 
 
 ELBOW, NEAR FORE-LEG (SEEN FROM RIGHT SIDE). 
 
 The reader may have been struck with the fact 
 that the number of toes on the foot of a mammal 
 is exceedingly variable, but yet has certain limits. 
 Some, like man, have five toes or lingers [phalanges) 
 on each extremity, while others, like the horse, have 
 only one. Except by occasional monstrosity there 
 are never more than five phalanges, while the animals 
 
A FIVE-TOED HORSE. 
 
 13 
 
 sometimes have two, three, or four, as the case may 
 be. In some, as in the tapirs, there are four toes on 
 the front feet and only three on the hind limbs. 
 
 A comparison of the hand of man with that of the 
 horse seems quite absurd, and yet it becomes simple 
 and intelligible when systematically carried out. The 
 
 ,-D 
 
 ELBOW, NEAR FORE-LEG (SEEN FROM LEFT SIDE). 
 
 reader must carefully keep in mind the fact that the 
 so-called knee of the horse is really the wrist, and 
 that the rest of the hmb is really the modified hand.' 
 The earliest horse known to geologists had five 
 toes or fingers. It was quite a little creature, scarcely 
 larger than an ordinary terrier dog. Then there 
 came an animal in which the characteristics of the 
 
14 
 
 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 horse are much more strongly developed. It is 
 appropriately named the Anchitherium — i.e. the 
 creature approaching the horse. In this animal 
 there were apparently three toes, all resting on the 
 ground, and the other two almost touching it. Next 
 came the Hipparion — i.e. an animal almost a horse. 
 
 LEFT FOOT OF ANCHITHEEIUM. LEFT FOOT OF HIPPARION". 
 
 This creature had still the three toes, but only the 
 central toe rested on the ground, the others being 
 drawn upwards 
 
 I intentionally used the word ' apparently ' 
 when describing the toes of the anchitherium, and 
 for the following reason. Let the reader again look 
 
THE PASTERN. 
 
 15 
 
 at the bones of a man's hand. Starting from the 
 wrist are five bones, called the ' metacarpals ' — i.e. 
 following the carpus, or wrist. Suppose we call the 
 thumb (as it really is) the first finger, we find that 
 in many animals the third and fourth metacarpals 
 are fused together, either partially or completely. 
 In the modern horse they are fused (anchylosed) so 
 completely, that it is not easy to detect the fact that 
 they are really two bones. But, 
 in the hipparion the line of 
 junction is manifest, and still 
 more so in the anchitherium. 
 A similar line of junction may 
 be seen in the very familiar 
 bones of the oxen and sheep. 
 
 In these latter creatures, 
 however, the third and fourth 
 phalanges diverge, so as to pro- 
 duce the cloven hoof, but in the 
 
 Horse tribe the phalanges, as well as the metacarpals, 
 are fused together, so as to form a series of single 
 bones, as here shown. Here B represents the first of 
 the three finger joints, and is popularly called the 
 Long Pastern bone, c is the middle joint, and is 
 called the Short Pastern, while the last, or ' distal ' 
 joint, is termed the Coffin Bone. How these bones are 
 connected with the hoof we shall see on a future page. 
 
 FINGER OR PASTERN 
 BONES. 
 
16 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 Now we can find a clue to the modification of the 
 foot, or hand, whichever we like to call it. The long 
 straight bone which reaches from the wrist to the 
 pastern (' cannon,' or ' shank bone,' as it is sometimes 
 called) is formed of the third and fourth metacarpals 
 fused together. But what has become of the rest of 
 the hand ? Where is the thumb ? What has been 
 done with the second (index) and little (fifth) 
 fingers ? We can answer these questions by geology 
 combined with comparative anatomy. 
 
 In every instance where the phalanges become 
 rudimentary, the thumb is the first to be withdrawn. 
 In the dog and cat, the thumb is familiar to all as 
 the ' dew-claw.' Now, in the horse tribe the thumb 
 was withdrawn even before the time of the anchi- 
 therium, leaving only three toes (or fingers) capable 
 of resting on the ground — i.e. in the middle were the 
 third and fourth toes fused into one, and on either 
 side the index and little finger. 
 
 In the hipparion these external toes are partially 
 rudimentary, so that though they still possess hoofs, 
 they do not rest on the ground, and are as useless for 
 walking purposes as those of the deer. In the true 
 horse, as we now know the animal, these external 
 toes have become perfectly rudimentary. There is 
 no external trace of them, but when the skin is re- 
 moved from the horse's shank two skewer-like bones 
 
THE ORIGINAL HORSE 17 
 
 are seen, one on each side of the cannon bone. These 
 are the metacarpals of the index and little fingers, 
 the phalanges having disappeared altogether, and 
 the metacarpals themselves being reduced to mere 
 splinters of bone, without a trace of a joint at either 
 end. 
 
 I may here mention that even when the horse did 
 appear, it was very unlike the beautiful animal of the 
 present day. It was even smaller than the Shetland 
 pony, had a head and neck very large in proportion 
 to the body, a coarse and heavy mane, and was alto- 
 gether a clumsy sort of animal. This we learn from 
 the wonderful engravings upon bone or antler exe- 
 cuted by those born artists the Men of the Caves. 
 To them we are indebted for portraits of the mam- 
 moth, deer, horses, and other animals, drawn with a 
 freedom, a truth, a vigour, and a fire of which our 
 best animal artists might be proud. 
 
 The various breeds of horses which we possess at 
 the present day are, so to speak, artificial, and are due 
 to the constant influence of man. When deprived of 
 this influence, they soon display a tendency to retro- 
 grade to the ancient type, their bodies and limbs 
 gradually dwindling, but their heads remaining of 
 their original size. 
 
 Every now and then a horse is born which ex- 
 hibits traits of its ancestry, just as fancy rabbits of 
 
 c 
 
18 HORSE AXD MAX. 
 
 the purest lineage are apt to produce young which 
 can hardly be distinguished from ' the semi-wild 
 rabbits of our warrens. In point of size, the beauti- 
 ful little pony ' Lady Jumbo,' which was exhibited in 
 1882, afforded a good example of the primitive horse. 
 When shown at Islington she was only thirty inches 
 in height, and was brought from the London Bridge 
 Station to Islington inside a four-wheel cab. 
 
 Sometimes a horse is born with three toes on one 
 foot. In the autumn of 1883, while staying in Boston, 
 Mass., I saw a horse with eight hoofs, the second 
 (i.e. the fore-finger) phalanges being almost as perfectly 
 developed as the third and fourth. The supplemen- 
 tary hoof, although it did not quite reach the ground, 
 was nearly as large as the actual hoof. Unfortunately 
 — so are we swayed by custom — the owner had shod 
 all the hoofs alike, a piece of barbarism which I lost 
 no time in denouncing. 
 
 Now we will turn to the hind limbs Here we 
 find almost a repetition of the fore limbs, but the 
 joints are differently arranged. 
 
 Instead of the blade bone there is the hip bone, 
 or ' pelvis,' marked o in the illustration. 
 
 Then comes the thigh bone [femur) in place of 
 the humerus. Here, again, a long and slender thigh 
 bone would be a source of weakness to the animal, 
 
THE HIND LIMBS. 19 
 
 and so, like the humerus, it is shortened, thickened, 
 and is set at a slope, so as to avoid a direct shock 
 to it. 
 
 Next we come to the real knee of the horse — a 
 joint which is professionally called the ' stifle,' why, 
 I cannot imagine. This joint being the knee, there 
 is a knee cap [patella], which performs the same 
 office for the horse that it does for us. Dislocation 
 of the patella is even more common with horses than 
 with man, but fortunately can be reduced more easily, 
 and does not leave such persistent weakness. 
 
 After the thigh bone come the two bones of the 
 lower leg — the ' tibia ' and ' fibula.' Both words 
 are Latin ; the former signifying a flute, and the other 
 a buckle, or rather the tongue of a buckle. With 
 us, they are popularly known as the large and small 
 leg bones. 
 
 Next comes the ankle {tarsus), popularly called 
 the ' hock.' As in the wrist, so in the ankle, the 
 bones are not unlike those of men. The heel-bone, 
 however, is longer, as it has to afford leverage to 
 the great heel sinew or tendon (tendo Achillis), the 
 severance of which is called ' houghing,' and lames 
 for life either man or beast. 
 
 Just as in the fore-limb the metacarpals are 
 rudimentary, with the exception of the third and 
 fourth which are fused into a single bone, so it is 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 with the ' metatarsals ' of the horse — marked T in the 
 illustration — which correspond with the bones form- 
 ing the instep of man. Similarly, the phalanges, or 
 toes, have totally vanished, except those which belong 
 
 to the cannon bone, and, like 
 the metatarsals, are fused into 
 single bones. 
 
 Thus, from the so-called 
 ' knee ' to the end of the fore 
 limb is the real hand of the 
 horse, and from the hock to 
 the end of the hind limb is the 
 true foot, the horse walking 
 on the tips of the third and 
 fourth fingers of the hand, 
 and on the tips of the third 
 and fourth toes of the foot. 
 
 Before leaving the skeleton 
 for the present, I wish to call 
 the attention of the reader to the mode in which the 
 joints of the limbs work. 
 
 The humerus is directed backwards, while the 
 femur slopes forward. Consequently, when the 
 animal moves, the elbow and stifle (the real knee), 
 which are on a level with each other, bend towards 
 each other. Then, the two next joints — i.e. the so- 
 called knee and the hock — bend away from each 
 
 left les and pelvis 
 (human). 
 
COLOURED DIAGRAMS. 21 
 
 other. The whole structure, together with the angle 
 of the pastern, ensures that elasticity which is so 
 necessary for the animal's welfare. 
 
 In order that these bones may be the better im- 
 pressed upon the mind, I strongly recommend the 
 reader to colour the figure, just as maps are coloured, 
 for the purpose of making them more easily intelli- 
 gible. My own figure is coloured as follows : — 
 
 Taking the same order as has been observed in 
 the description, the skull is olive-green, and the 
 lower jaw blackish-grey. The cervical vertebrae are 
 yellow ochre, the dorsal vertebras blue, the lumbar 
 vertebras red, the sacrum brown, and the tail red. 
 
 The true ribs are olive-green, and the false ribs 
 purple. As for the limbs, the scapula and pelvis 
 are pink, and the humerus and femur olive-green. 
 The radius and tibia are yellow ochre, while the 
 ulna and fibula are red. The carpus and tarsus are 
 brown, the metacarpals and metatarsals purple, the 
 splint bones scarlet, and the phalanges brown. Of 
 course, the darkened bones of the right limbs should 
 be left uncoloured. 
 
22 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER E. 
 
 Connection between th8 foot and the hoof — Extent of the foot — What 
 is horn ? — Original dwelling-place of the horse — Climbing powers of 
 the horse — Requisites of the hoof — Strength, because it has to 
 bear the weight of so heavy an animal — Lightness, lest the horse 
 should have to lift needless weight — The 'coffin ' bone and its struc- 
 ture — Hardness, to endure contact with bad ground — Sharpness, 
 round edge to enable the horse to climb — Clinging, to suit smooth 
 and slippery ground — Self-repairing, for restoration of worn 
 material: the wall, frog, and sole — Structure of the wall — The 
 horny laminae — Their origin and mode of growth — Over-grown hoofs 
 — Elasticity begins with angle of pastern — The FROG, its position, 
 structure, and office — Analogies between Nature and human inven- 
 tions — The sole, its structure and double office. 
 
 Having now taken a comprehensive glance at the 
 skeleton of the horse, and seen the relationship 
 between the foot and the animal, we will go into 
 a little more detail, and see where is the connection 
 between the foot and the hoof. 
 
 The popular idea on this subject is that the hoof, 
 or at all events the hoof together with the fetlock, 
 is the foot ; whereas, as we have seen, the foot of the 
 fore-limbs begins at the so-called knee, and that of, 
 the hind limbs at the hock. 
 
 The hoof is. in fact, the nail of the finger or toe, 
 
THE HOOF. 23 
 
 enlarged and modified to perform a series of offices. 
 In material and position it is identical with the talon 
 of the lion or tiger and the claw of the eagle. It 
 may seem strange that the delicate pinky nail of a 
 lady's finger should be one and the same with the 
 hoof of the horse, but such is really the case. 
 
 Now for the structure of the hoof, or nail, of 
 the horse. 
 
 Instead of being a mere lump of horn, it is a 
 sort of horny case, or box, intended to protect the 
 sensitive structure which it surrounds. The offices 
 which it serves are many, though several of those 
 offices are practically ignored by civilised man. 
 
 Indeed, even those who really know the structure 
 of the horse have made the most curious mistakes 
 about the work of the hoof. One writer states that 
 the horse was intended to live on moist or even 
 marshy land, whereas such ground is the very worst 
 for the hoof, and is carefully avoided by the horse when- 
 ever it can find hard and dry ground to stand upon. 
 
 The animal always instinctively tries to find a 
 hard surface on which to stand. In America the 
 ' mustangers ' — i.e. the men who get their living by 
 catching and training the mustangs, or wild horses — 
 invariably choose the hardest and stoniest places lor 
 the ' corrals,' in which they keep the horses until 
 they are wanted. 
 
24 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Another writer says that the horse was intended 
 to live on level pasture land. 
 
 Now, it is admitted that Central Asia is the 
 original home of the horse, and that the animal is 
 not very likely to find in those regions either marsh 
 or pasture land. In point of fact, the horse is 
 intended to suit a very wide range of locality, and 
 to be equally at home on grass, stony ground, or 
 rocks. A familiar instance of this fact may be found 
 in our Exmoor ponies. They have ample choice of 
 ground, but of their own will they prefer rough and 
 rocky ground, climbing and leaping with an activity 
 and sure-footedness that is hardly surpassed by the 
 goat itself. 
 
 A curious instance of this capacity occurred to 
 a friend of mine, a mighty Nimrod, who has hunted in 
 many parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
 
 He was stationed with his regiment in India, and 
 was fond of going out alone to hunt, mounted on 
 a little Circassian horse. On one of those excursions 
 he lost his way, and, finding himself at the foot of 
 a rocky cliff, determined to ascend it so as to find 
 his bearings. 
 
 So he dismounted, and began to climb up the 
 rock, leaving the horse with the bridle over its neck. 
 These horses are trained to stand still while the hunter 
 goes off on foot in search of his game. When Col. 
 
CLIMBING POWERS OF THE HORSE. 25 
 
 D had mounted about half-way up the precipice, 
 
 he heard a scrambling sound beneath him, and on 
 looking down saw his horse in the act of following 
 him. 
 
 The rock was very steep, but the horse could 
 climb it as well as the man. There was one part 
 
 of the ascent of which Col. D sent me a sketch. 
 
 In one place the rock projected into a sort of buttress 
 nearly smooth and perpendicular, and it was neces- 
 sary to work round it before reaching a firm foot- 
 hold. A narrow ledge ran round it, just wide enough 
 for the toes to rest upon, and, by means of clutching 
 with his fingers at any irregularity of the face of 
 the rock, the hunter managed to work his way round 
 the obstacle. 
 
 To his great astonishment, he saw that the horse 
 was following the same track as himself, and had man- 
 aged to sidle round the buttress in exactly the same 
 manner. The horse reared itself upright, set the 
 toes of the hind feet upon the narrow ledge, clung 
 to the rock with the sharp-edged toes of the fore 
 feet, and so contrived to achieve the dangerous pas- 
 sage. Of course the animal was unshod. 
 
 An admirable example of climbing power pos- 
 sessed by the unshod horse is given by Lady Florence 
 Dixie, in her work ' Across Patagonia.' 
 
 ' Soon our horses began to neigh and prick up 
 
26 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 their ears as we advanced beyond a clearing. Their 
 cries were answered from somewhere beyond us, and, 
 pushing forward into the open, we came upon a herd 
 of wild horses, who, on hearing our advance, had 
 stopped grazing, and now they stood collected in a 
 knot together, snorting and stamping, and staring at 
 us in evident amazement. 
 
 ' One of their number came boldly trotting out to 
 meet us, and evidently with no pacific intentions ; his 
 wicked eye and his white teeth, which he had bared 
 fiercely, looking by no means encouraging. But 
 suddenly he stopped short, looked at us for a mo- 
 ment, and then, with a wild snort, dashed madly 
 away, followed by the whole herd. 
 
 * They disappeared like lightning over the brow 
 of a deep ravine, to emerge again on our view after 
 a couple of seconds, scampering like goats up its 
 opposite side, which rose almost perpendicular to a 
 height of six or seven hundred feet. They reached 
 its crest at full gallop in the twinkling of an eye, and, 
 without pausing for an instant, disappeared again, 
 leaving us wondering and amazed at their marvellous 
 agility. 
 
 ' I had often seen their paths leading up hill-sides 
 which a man could scarcely climb, but, till now that 
 I had witnessed a specimen of their powers with my 
 own eyes, I had scarcely been able to believe them 
 
QUALITIES OF THE HOOF. 27 
 
 possessed of a nimbleness and cleverness of foot 
 which would not discredit a chamois.' 
 
 Here are some of the offices which have to be 
 performed by the horse's hoof, together with the 
 reasons for those offices. 
 
 The horse is a very heavy animal, and therefore 
 the hoof which carries that weight must be strong. 
 
 Strength might be obtained by solidity, but 
 solidity would involve weight, so that the horse 
 would have to lift several ounces each time that 
 he made a step. This may not seem very much 
 in detail, but in the aggregate it is very considerable 
 indeed. 
 
 Moreover, the power which is required to raise 
 the foot is very much in excess of the weight to be 
 lifted. The hoof is at the extremity of a long lever, 
 the power of which is applied at the end of the 
 shorter arm, so that, as has been roughly calculated, 
 an ounce on the hoof is equivalent to a pound on 
 the back. The horse is not furnished with muscles 
 fitted for lifting heavy weights at the ends of its 
 legs, and therefore the foot is carefully made as 
 light as possible. The hoof, therefore, must be 
 
 LIGHT. 
 
 It must be hard, so as to endure contact with 
 sharp-edged rock, a sun-baked soil, or loose stones. 
 
28 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 It must be elastic, in order to obviate the jar 
 which would be caused by the concussion of a hard 
 and unyielding substance with the hard and un- 
 yielding ground. 
 
 It must be sharp-edged, to give the animal a 
 footing on rocks or uneven ground. 
 
 It must be clinging, so as to save the horse from 
 falling on a wet, slippery, or frozen surface. 
 
 Lastly, as the hoof must be perpetually worn 
 away, it must be capable of self eepair in exact 
 proportion to the loss of material. All these appa- 
 rently conflicting characteristics are to be found in 
 the hoof of the horse in its natural state, and there 
 is not one of them which man does not impair, or 
 actually annul, in his attempts to improve upon nature. 
 
 The provisions for combining lightness with 
 strength begin with the bones. In order to support 
 the large hoof, it is necessary that the terminal, or 
 4 coffin ' bone should be enlarged. If, however, this 
 bone were solid, several ounces would be added to 
 the weight. It is, therefore, made of a ' cancellous ' 
 structure — i.e. somewhat sponge-like in appearance. 
 This formation is evident, even from the outside, but 
 is very much better shown by making a section of 
 the bone. A somewhat similar structure may be 
 seen in the skull of the elephant, where size has to 
 be conjoined with lightness. 
 
THE HORNY LAMINA. 29 
 
 There is now before me the coffin bone of a cart- 
 horse. It measures nine and a half inches round the 
 edge, four and a quarter inches across, from wing to 
 wing, and only just exceeds four ounces in weight. 
 
 A similar principle is carried out in the hoof, 
 but, as the material is horn and not bone, it must be 
 treated in a different manner. 
 
 In the hoof there are three distinct kinds of horn. 
 Each kind is secreted from a different source, and 
 is perpetually renewed when it becomes worn out or 
 effete. The three horns are, firstly, the outer ' crust ' 
 or ' wall ; ' secondly, the ' frog,' which occupies the 
 centre of the under surface of the hoof, and ought to 
 bear the weight of the horse when it first sets foot 
 to the ground ; and, thirdly, the ' sole,' which con- 
 nects the frosr with the wall. 
 
 We will take each of these structures separately. 
 
 Even the wall is not a solid piece of horn, but 
 is made of a great number of very thin horny plates 
 called ' laminae. ' These laminas are shaped like knife- 
 blades, the backs being very much thicker than the 
 edges. If we can imagine some six or seven hundred 
 of these horny blades to be set closely side by side, 
 their backs to be fused together and their edges free, 
 we may form some conception of this portion of the 
 hoof. They have been well compared to the gills 
 of a mushroom. 
 
30 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 These laminae are, in fact, flattened hairs, and, like 
 all hairs, grow from their roots, which may be found 
 in the ' coronary ring ' which surrounds the upper 
 portion of the hoof. The lamina? which form the 
 front of the hoof grow much more rapidly than the 
 others, so as to compensate for the greater wear 
 and tear which takes place on the toe than on the 
 1 heel,' as it is called. 
 
 HOOF OF FALKLAND ISLAND HORSE 
 (FRONT AND BACK views). 
 
 Therefore, unless the front of the hoof be regularly 
 worn away, as was intended by the Creator, or cut 
 away by the knife, according to man's ideas of im- 
 proving on nature, it grows to an abnormal length, 
 and prevents the animal from walking in a natural 
 manner. 
 
 The accompanying illustration represents the over- 
 grown hoof of a horse which had lived on the soft 
 and swampy ground of the Falkland Isles, and which 
 
FKICTION AND THE HOOF. 31 
 
 was therefore unable to wear away the hoof by 
 friction. As may be seen from the illustration, the 
 hoof had curled round like a ram's horn, forcing the 
 animal to walk on the side of the hoof and not on 
 its face. As to the frog and sole, it is not easy to 
 identify them, so completely are they enveloped by 
 the overgrown horn of the wall. 
 
 The accompanying illustration is drawn from a 
 specimen in the Museum of the College of Surgeons. 
 It may be seen among the series of epidermal 
 appendages, and forms a good reply to those persons 
 who think that the hoof was formed for marsh v ground. 
 
 Should the reader be a keeper of cage birds, 
 especially canaries, he will remember that both the 
 claws and beak are apt to be overgrown for want of 
 the friction to which they would be subjected had 
 the bird lived a natural life. Unless both beak and 
 claws be artificially cut, as a succedaneum for the 
 natural friction, the bird will be greatly incon- 
 venienced, and may probably die from inability to 
 procure food. 
 
 A similar result of overgrowth for lack of friction 
 is often seen in rabbits, mice, rats, and other rodent 
 animals. One of the incisor teeth is accidentally 
 broken, and the corresponding tooth of the opposite 
 jaw not having anything to rub against, continues 
 to grow until the tooth attains an astonishing length. 
 
32 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Those of the lower jaw will sometimes curl over the 
 top of the head, while those of the upper jaw, on 
 account of the greater curvature of the socket, will 
 continue their growth until they form a perfect ring. 
 Examples of these overgrowths may be seen in the 
 College of Surgeons. 
 
 Eabbit- keepers must have noticed how their pets 
 are continually moving their jaws as if masticating 
 something. This movement so closely resembles that 
 of ruminant animals when they chew the cud, that 
 the Jews of old times took for granted that the 
 hare and the cony — i.e. the hyrax — chew the cud, 
 whereas they only rub the upper and lower teeth 
 against each other for the purpose of preserving the 
 chisel-like edge. 
 
 Another needful characteristic of the hoof now 
 comes before us. In order to avoid jarring the 
 brain and spinal cord at each step, it is necessary 
 that the hoof should be elastic. 
 
 As I have already mentioned, the general elasti- 
 city of the whole frame is largely due to the mode 
 in which the joints of the limbs are made. The 
 peculiar angle at which the fetlock is set has also an 
 influence on the elasticity, and horsemen are well 
 aware that when the pastern is too upright they feel 
 jarred at every step. 
 
ANGLE OF THE FETLOCK. 
 
 I always endeavour to show how man's inven- 
 tions, especially in practical mechanics, have their 
 prototypes in nature. If the reader will compare the 
 accompanying illustration with the fetlock of the 
 horse on page 15, he will see that the angle of the 
 connecting piece (marked a') is almost identical with 
 that of the fetlock. 
 
 But something more than the mere arrangement 
 of the bones is required. The portion of the hoof 
 which comes first to the ground at each step must 
 be elastic, and this requirement brings us to one of 
 
 SIDE BEARING OF RAILWAY CARRIAGE. 
 
 the most important portions of the horse's hoof, it 
 being the chief source of elasticity. This is the frog, 
 so called because when untouched by the knife it 
 really bears some resemblance to a crouching frog. 
 
 It occupies the centre of the lower surface of the 
 hoof, and, as the reader may see from the accompany- 
 ing illustration, looks something like the letter V. 
 The rounded portions at the ends of the bars are 
 called the ' glumes,' or heels of the frog. 
 
 When the hoof is left in its natural form, the 
 frog fills up a considerable portion of the hoof. It 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 is not hard like the wall, which, if properly treated, 
 becomes so hard that a knife will scarcely touch it, 
 but is quite soft and elastic, feeling when handled 
 much like vulcanised indiarubber. 
 
 As the horse steps, the weight first comes on the 
 hinder, or heel portion of the frog, then upon its 
 centre, and afterwards upon the wall. 
 
 Two objects are fulfilled by this structure. Firstly, 
 by means of this elastic material interposed between 
 the horse and the ground, the 
 animal treads softly, and does not 
 'jar' the body, as would be the 
 case if the bearing came first on 
 the wall. Horses are instinctively 
 aware of this fact, and when at 
 liberty in a field they may be 
 seen shuffling about in order to 
 obtain the central bearing, for 
 which the hoof was made. 
 
 Acfain, man has imitated nature in artificial loco- 
 motion. 
 
 In many forms of carriages, especially those of 
 railways, the weight' rests upon the central portion 
 of the springs, as seen in the accompanying illustra- 
 tion. The inventors of this form of spring, and of 
 the diagonal attachment which is figured on page 
 33, were probably unaware that their inventions 
 
 UNSHOD HOOF OF WILD 
 HORSE. 
 
THE 'FROG.' 35 
 
 had been anticipated in nature — not only for many- 
 years before carriages were invented, but many ages 
 before man could have existed. 
 
 The next object is to prevent the horse from 
 slipping on wet or smooth surfaces. For this object 
 the frog is wonderfully adapted, as it will cling to 
 ice or a wet boulder, and enable the animal to 
 traverse a slippery surface with perfect freedom. 
 
 When, therefore, the hoof of an unshod horse 
 comes to the ground, and the weight of the animal 
 rests upon it, the hoof has a double hold, the frog in 
 
 LTYJ 
 
 CENTRAL BEAKING OF RAILWAY CARRIAGE. 
 
 the centre clinging like indiarubber, and the sharp- 
 edged wall holding to the least roughness or irregu- 
 larity. 
 
 Like the wall, the frog is subject to perpetual 
 wear, and therefore must be perpetually renewed. 
 It is not, however, rubbed down by friction, as is 
 the wall, but its outer portions continually become 
 detached in little loose flaps, which hang on for a 
 time and then break away altogether, so as to make 
 way for the fresh material which has been formed 
 above them. 
 
 d2 
 
36 HOKSE AND MAN. 
 
 Lastly, there comes the sole, which binds the 
 frog and the wall together. The horn of which this 
 portion of the hoof is made is very different from 
 that of the wall or the frog. It is formed of a number 
 of extremely hard and strong horny plates laid one 
 above the other, and curved so as to form a sort of 
 dome surrounding both sides and the front of the 
 frog. The sole has another object beside connecting 
 the frog and the wall. It is intended to defend the 
 sensitive parts of the interior hoof from stones, sharp 
 points of rocks, and so forth. When the sole becomes 
 worn out, it has the faculty of reproducing itself in 
 a manner quite distinct from that of the wall and 
 the frog. Instead of being rubbed away by friction 
 like the former, or throwing off little flaps like 
 the latter, it exfoliates in flakes, a new flake being 
 secreted above before the effete one falls below. 
 
 One point more about the hoof remains to be 
 mentioned. 
 
 As the horse is intended by nature not only to 
 go on level ground but to be able to climb rocks, 
 it is necessary that the edges of the hoofs should be 
 sharp and the interior slightly concave. It must be 
 evident, therefore, that if the edges be blunted and 
 flattened, or, still worse, if they be rounded, especi- 
 ally at the toes, one function of the hoof cannot be 
 exercised. 
 
THE THliEE KINDS OF HORN. 37 
 
 The reader will now see that these three kinds of 
 horn work with each other, and that if either of them 
 be removed the other two cannot perform their tasks 
 at all, and that if one be even injured, the others are 
 proportionately weakened. Each of these points will 
 presently be considered at length, but I have thought 
 it better to begin by giving the reader a general 
 idea of the natural hoof and its structure. At all 
 events, enough has been said to show that the hoof 
 is not made for one kind of ground or one climate 
 only, but is capable of sustaining the animal on rock, 
 marsh, loose stone, or ice. 
 
 We will now take a corresponding view of the 
 internal structure of the hoof. 
 
38 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 internal structure of the hoof — The hoof compared with the Jacquard 
 loom — Longitudinal section of pastern — The 'navicular' bone: its 
 origin, form, and office — The tendons — Flexor and extensor muscles 
 and their tendons — The ' coronary ring ' and its object — The hoof 
 of the horse and the nail of man — The ' quick ' of the nail — The 
 ' sensitive ' or ' vascular ' laminae — Mutual dependence of the horny 
 and vascular laminae — Analogy of laminae of whalebone and those of 
 hoof — Expansive property of hoof — Mr. Miles's experiments — Advan- 
 tage of this property in a hunter — Effect of shoes in leaping — In any 
 pace the heel comes on the ground before the toe — Importance of 
 this fact. 
 
 Throughout the whole animal kingdom there is, 
 perhaps, no structure which is more elaborately 
 intricate than that of the internal hoof. 
 
 Yet, intricate as it may be, it is based on one 
 leading idea, so that all the multitudinous details 
 subserve one single purpose. The same principle is 
 observed in many of the complicated machines 
 invented by man. Take, for example, the various 
 modifications of the Jacquard loom, especially that 
 form which produces ribbons into which various 
 patterns are woven. To tlfe novice, nothing looks 
 more hopelessly elaborate and confusing, while to 
 
COMPLEX SIMPLICITY 39 
 
 the skilled weaver nothing can be simpler or more 
 intelligible. 
 
 There are hundreds of threads crossing and re- 
 crossing each other in apparently hopeless confusion. 
 There are several rows of little shuttles, each fitted 
 with differently coloured silk. There are slender 
 rods and cranks, and over all this mixture of brass, 
 steel, strings, silks, and shuttles, there is a string of 
 cards perforated with circular holes, each turning 
 over as the shuttles dart from one side of the machine 
 to the other. 
 
 If these parts be separated, they seem to have no 
 connection with each other. A person who did not 
 understand the principles of the machine might think 
 that you were joking if you showed him the string of 
 perforated cards and a patterned ribbon, and told 
 him that the holes on the cards constituted the 
 original pattern, which was reproduced in a different 
 form on the silk, and that a skilled weaver can read 
 off one from the other as a linguist can read English 
 into Greek, or vice versd. Yet all these multitudi- 
 nous details are arranged by one master mind, and 
 all work harmoniously together to one single end. 
 
 So it is with the horse's hoof. 
 
 That the three kinds of horn of which the external 
 hoof is constructed should be formed so as to act 
 in concert with the infinitely more elaborate internal 
 
40 
 
 HORSE AND MAN". 
 
 hoof, seems at first sight as incredible as that the 
 holes in the cards above the loom contain the pattern 
 which the machine works in coloured silks below. 
 
 Yet, as I have said, the manager of the machine 
 can read the pattern of the silk in the cards, and he 
 knows that if only a single card were to be removed, 
 or even transposed, or a hole omitted, the pattern 
 
 SECTION OF FETLOCK. 
 
 would be imperfect. Similarly, those who know the 
 construction of the hoof are perfectly aware that all 
 its parts, whether external or internal, are dependent 
 on each other, and that an injury done to one will 
 affect all the others. 
 
 I shall now endeavour to place before the reader 
 the interior of the hoof, and its connection with the 
 
THE 'NAVICULAR' BONE. 
 
 41 
 
 horny covering that surrounds it, and the limb of 
 which it forms the extremity. 
 
 The accompanying illustrations represent a longitu- 
 dinal section of the lower portion of the horse's foot. 
 
 Beginning as before with the bones, A is the lower 
 part of the cannon bone, or metacarpal; B is the 
 Long Pastern, c the Short Pastern, and D the Coffin 
 Bone. Another bone, shown at e, now comes before 
 
 FRONT VIEW OF COFFIN AND BACK VIEW OP COFFIN, NAVICULAR, 
 NAVICULAR BONES. AND SHORT-PA SThRN BONES. 
 
 us. It is quite a little one, but is of the greatest 
 importance to the hoof. Its scientific name is the 
 'Navicular' bone. The word is Latin, signifying a 
 little ship or boat, and is given to the bone because 
 it somewhat resembles a birch-bark canoe in shape. 
 The too-familiar ' navicular ' disease originates in the 
 structures surrounding this bone. Another name is 
 the ' shuttle-bone.' 
 
 As the section on page 40 does not give any idea 
 
42 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 of the true shape of either the coffin or navicular 
 bones, two views of each are here presented. 
 
 What might be the origin of this bone was for 
 some time a matter of controversy. It was long 
 thought to be a modification of one of the missing 
 bones of the foot, but is now known to be a 
 ' sesamoid ' bone. There are many of these bones, 
 variously formed in different animals, the largest 
 being the knee-cap, or ' patella.' They are developed 
 within the tendons, and derive their rather fanciful 
 name from their usually small size, together with 
 their shape, which bears some resemblance to that of 
 the sesame seed. 
 
 The reader will see that the navicular lies behind 
 the coffin bone, and between the two wings. Its 
 chief object is to act as a pulley, so as to enable the 
 foot to be bent, or ' flexed,' with greater force. 
 
 Another sesamoid bone, performing a similar 
 office, may be seen at f, just at the end of the cannon 
 bone, and aids in producing the characteristic pro- 
 jection at the beginning of the pastern. At T is seen 
 the fatty cushion of the pastern. Its structure acts 
 as a guard to the delicate machinery of the sesamoid 
 bone and tendon. 
 
 We are now led to another element in the horse's 
 foot — namely, the tendons — i.e. the ligamentary 
 bands by which the muscles act on their attachments. 
 
TENDONS. 43 
 
 Whenever a limb or any portion of the body has to 
 be bent, there are always two opposite sets of muscles, 
 one called the ' flexors,' because they bend the limb, 
 and the other ' extensors,' because they straighten it. 
 As a rule, the former are far more powerful than the 
 latter. 
 
 This we may see exemplified in the well-known 
 schoolboy experiment. When one boy presses together 
 the tips of the forefingers, and another grasps his 
 wrists, and tries to pull the fingers apart at right 
 angles to the body, the latter cannot succeed unless 
 he be very much bigger and more powerful than the 
 former. The reason of this discrepancy is, that the 
 first boy uses his flexor muscles, while the second boy 
 employs the extensors. A very familiar example of a 
 flexor muscle is to be found in the ' biceps,' of which 
 an athlete is apt to be exceedingly proud. 
 
 The tendons, which in fact surround the muscles 
 as a thin membrane, and are brought to a cord-like 
 shape at the extremities, take their name from their 
 muscles, and of course are of proportionate strength. 
 I may here mention, as another very familiar example, 
 that the * stringiness ' of meat is due to the thin coat- 
 ing of tendon which envelopes the muscles. 
 
 At i and K is seen the double flexor tendon. This 
 ligament divides after passing over the sesamoid bone 
 of the fetlock, the front portion being attached to the 
 
44 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 upper part of the short pastern bone, and the other 
 to the floor of the coffin bone, after passing over the 
 navicular bone. This tendon, therefore, twice changes 
 its line, each time gaining an increase of power. 
 
 In the front of the limb runs the extensor tendon. 
 It also divides into two portions, one being attached 
 to the short pastern bone and the other to the coffin 
 bone. These two tendons, therefore, or rather the 
 muscles to which they are attached, would continually 
 pull against each other were it not for the provision 
 that the one is always relaxed in proportion as the 
 other contracts. At h is shown the suspensory liga- 
 ment, the name of which indicates its use. 
 
 These tendons and their attachment can readily 
 be observed in a dried specimen, although it is more 
 satisfactory to study them from the recent subject. I 
 have now before me a section of a pastern which was 
 made many years ago, and has been subjected to very 
 hard usage. It is, however, in perfect preservation, 
 and, unless wilfully damaged, will remain unchanged 
 for centuries. 
 
 I recommend the reader to colour all these ana- 
 tomical illustrations, every one of which has been 
 drawn from the actual object. 
 
 At s, on page 40, is shown the coronary ring, which 
 secretes the horn of the wall. Being extremely vascular 
 ■ — i.e. filled with arteries and veins, it shrivels almost to 
 
THE VASCULAK LAMINAE. 45 
 
 nothing after the death of the animal, and in a dried 
 specimen there is only a space to show where the 
 coronary ring has been. 
 
 At m is shown the soft frog, which is guarded by 
 the hard or exterior frog, which is seen at N. This, 
 however, is not quite large enough. The draughts- 
 man, who, I regret to say, died almost suddenly before 
 the series of drawings was completed, could not obtain 
 access to a specimen which had not been mutilated by 
 man, and therefore had to draw the frog as he saw it. 
 
 p shows the internal or sensitive sole, and o the 
 hard or .external sole, which 
 has already been mentioned. E 
 shows the wall or crust, and U is 
 
 tire skin, horny laminae. 
 
 Now we will see how the 
 sensitive structures are connected with the external 
 hoof, which, it must be remembered, is the analogue 
 of the human nail. 
 
 The reader will remember that on page 29 the six 
 hundred lamina? of which the wall is composed were 
 compared to knife-blades, the edges being inwards. 
 Upon the coffin bone are set edgewise a corresponding 
 number of vascular, or sensitive lamina?, shaped very 
 much like the horny lamina?, and inserted between 
 them like partially interlaced fingers. They hold 
 the hoof so tightly that to pull it off, even when the 
 
 1P%> 
 
46 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 pastern is separated from the rest of the limb, is 
 exceedingly difficult. 
 
 In the accompanying illustration is represented 
 a section of a hoof which was made for me at 
 the College of Surgeons, e is the bone. At a b 
 are the horny and sensitive lamina interlacing with 
 each other, the latter being as amply supplied with 
 nerves as the base and ' quick ' of the human nail. 
 
 
 SECTION OF HOOF THROUGH THE COFFIN BONE. 
 
 c is sensitive structure, and d is the external 
 horn. 
 
 This figure affords an excellent example of the 
 curious alteration in appearance which is made by a 
 section. Even in the longitudinal section of the pas- 
 tern, as shown in p. 40, the coffin bone, owing to the 
 absence of the wing, looks scarcely half its real size, 
 while no one could form the least idea of either the 
 size or shape of the navicular bone from the section. 
 
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. 47 
 
 There is now before Hie a dried specimen of a 
 pastern, from which the hoof has been removed, 
 the sensitive laminae having been allowed to remain 
 in their places. 
 
 They have, of course, become shrivelled out of 
 all shape, have lost their bright scarlet colour, and 
 round the edge of the coffin bone they are quite 
 undistinguishable, the bone looking as if it were 
 enveloped in a rough brown skin. But at the upper 
 part of the bone, especially just below the coronary 
 ring, the separate laminse can easily be detected, so 
 that when the hoof is shown beside them the con- 
 nection is perfectly intelligible. 
 
 I have already mentioned that there are about 
 six hundred horny laminse in each hoof. If we make 
 a careful section of the laminae, we find that, slight 
 and delicate as they are, their structure is far from 
 being simple. Hard at their bases, which form the 
 wall of the hoof, they become more and more fragile 
 towards their edges, so that the portions which inter- 
 lace with the sensitive laminse might be rubbed to 
 pieces between the finger and thumb. 
 
 In order to be seen in their full perfection, a very 
 thin section of them should be made, and then be 
 viewed by polarised light. A very moderate power, 
 say a half-inch object-glass, is required. They will 
 then be seen to have their surfaces covered with 
 
48 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 sub-laminae, while now and then one of them throws 
 off a branch similarly furnished with sub-lamina3. 
 The colours which are presented by these structures 
 under polarised light are beyond the power of 
 
 APPEARANCE OF HORN- 
 FIBRES BY POLARISED 
 LIGHT. 
 
 TWO LAMINA WITH THEIR SUB-LAMINA. 
 
 description. I have, however, endeavoured to give 
 some idea of them without the aid of colour. 
 
 One other point remains to be mentioned in 
 connection with this part of the subject. This is 
 the ' linea alba,' or white line, which marks the 
 
THE LINEA ALBA. 49 
 
 junction of the sole and wall. It is analogous to 
 the ' quick ' of the human nail, and is exceedingly 
 sensitive. 
 
 In the untouched hoof, this line, which is as 
 vulnerable as the heel of Achilles, is thoroughly pro- 
 tected by the thick and strong horny layers of the 
 sole ; but if that protection be removed, or even 
 weakened, the pressure of the horse's weight against 
 a stone or similar object will cause such intolerable 
 agony, that the animal will drop as if shot when he 
 treads upon it. 
 
 Now we will see how all these structures, which 
 are apparently so different, can work together in 
 harmony. 
 
 Suppose the animal to be walking. At each step 
 a considerable part of the weight of the horse is 
 thrown upon the hoof. The first portion to come 
 to the ground is the elastic frog, and as the frog 
 yields to pressure, the sharp edged wall also comes 
 upon the ground, so that the horse is partly sup- 
 ported by the frog and partly by the wall. 
 
 The pressure of the frog is transmitted to the 
 sole, and thence to the wall, which slightly expands. 
 There has been great controversy about this expan- 
 sion. Some writers, judging apparently from the 
 dried hoof, have denied that any expansion at all 
 takes place. But it must be remembered that the 
 
 E 
 
50 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 hoof, when it belongs to the living animal, is a very 
 different instrument from the same hoof when dry. 
 In the latter state it is hard and unyielding, but in the 
 former, though hard on the exterior, it becomes gra- 
 dually softer in the interior, and is perfectly capable 
 of yielding to pressure. 
 
 Similarly, ' whalebone,' as we popularly call it, 
 or ' baleen,' as it ought to be termed, is a kind of 
 horny structure, formed, like the hoof, of a vast 
 number of hair-like fibres fused together. The 
 whalebone of commerce is hard, and though very 
 elastic to a certain extent, is sure to snap if bent 
 too far. This is well exemplified by the pictorial 
 advertisements which meet, or rather which are 
 forced on our eyes at every turn, and which repre- 
 sent ladies in despair about their corsets, the ' bones ' 
 of which will break. 
 
 But the baleen, as it exists in the living animal, 
 is a very different structure. It is many feet in 
 length, very nearly straight, as soft and pliable as 
 a fresh tendon, and quite as incapable of being broken 
 when bent. Indeed, it is so pliable, that when the 
 whale closes its mouth, the ends of the baleen slip into 
 a deep groove on either side of the lower jaw, the long 
 plates, or laminse, bending nearly at right angles. They 
 remain there until the animal opens its mouth, when 
 the baleen springs back again into its previous form. 
 
'FREE LANCE.' 51 
 
 So it is with two out of the three kinds of horn 
 which constitute the hoof. The frog yields vertically 
 and the wall laterally, the rigid sole serving to transfer 
 the pressure as has already been mentioned. Con- 
 sequently, as long as the animal moves, the horn is 
 never at rest. It is perpetually fulfilling the tasks 
 for which it was made, is continually thrown off, and 
 as continually replaced. Any interference with nature, 
 therefore, must of necessity be injurious to the hoof. 
 
 The expansion is not nearly so much as some of 
 its advocates think, but still, there is quite enough to 
 keep the fibres of the three horns in motion. Mr. G. 
 Ransom (' Free Lance '), in his ' Horses and Eoads,' 
 mentions a case where the amount of expansion was 
 carefully measured. The experiments were made by 
 Mi*. Miles, a Devonshire squire, author of ' Miles on 
 the Horse's Foot.' 
 
 'The subject of them was a horse nine years old, 
 which had always worn shoes since he was first put 
 to work, and Lad the shoes removed on purpose for 
 the investigation and experiment. 
 
 ' The unshod foot was then lifted up, and its con- 
 tour traced with the greatest precision on a piece of 
 board covered with paper. A similar board was then 
 laid on the ground, the same foot was then placed 
 upon it, and the opposite foot held up whilst it was 
 again traced. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ' The result was, that it had expanded one eighth 
 part of an inch at the heels and quarters ; and from 
 the quarters towards the toe this gradually diminished, 
 showing a space of four inches front, and two inches 
 on each side of the centre of the toe, where no 
 expansion whatever had taken place ; the tracings 
 proving at the same time that expansion was only 
 lateral^ and that none took place in the length of 
 the foot from heel to toe. 
 
 ' He states that he had other horses which had 
 before shown a still greater expansion than this ; but 
 this was only whilst the horse was standing, and upon 
 three legs.' 
 
 The expansive property of the hoof has another 
 advantage. When an ordinary horse — say in hunt- 
 ing — is traversing stiff and clayey ground, its pro- 
 gress is greatly hindered by the soil which adheres 
 to the hoofs, and by the depth to which the foot 
 sinks in the ground. Sometimes, when the horse has 
 taken a leap, the fore-hoofs sink so deeply that the 
 animal cannot instantly extricate them. The forward 
 impetus cannot be checked, and the result is that the 
 leg is broken at the pastern, and the horse has to be 
 killed. The rider may probably be killed too, but we 
 are now dealing with the horse and not with its rider. 
 
 But, with an unshod horse, the result of a similar 
 leap would be very different. As it comes to the 
 
IRON AND HORN. 53 
 
 ground, the hoof expands, and consequently gives a 
 wider bearing, so that the foot does not sink so far, 
 and necessarily makes a larger hole. Then, as the 
 hoof contracts as soon as the weight is taken off, it 
 conies easily out of the hole, and so there is but little 
 risk of snapping the pastern. 
 
 Even on hard ground, the disadvantage of inter- 
 ference with nature is equally shown. Mr. Miles, who 
 has already been mentioned, writes as follows : — 
 
 4 When a hunter is shod in the usual manner with 
 seven or eight nails, some are always, for the sake of 
 security, placed in the inner quarter, which is the 
 most expansive portion of the hoof. Let a horse so 
 circumstanced be called upon to leap from a high 
 bank into a hard road, and what happens ? 
 
 ' The weight of the horse and its rider is thrown 
 with an impetus, which greatly increases that of both, 
 upon the bones of the feet, both sides of which are 
 so fettered that neither can yield to make room for 
 them. Consequently, they squeeze the exquisitely 
 sensitive lining of the hoof between their own hard 
 substance, the unyielding horn, and the shanks of 
 one, two, or three nails, as the case may be.' 
 
 That the heel comes first to the ground, is followed 
 by the frog, and that the toe only comes on the 
 ground when the horse is standing still, or when it 
 lifts the foot from the ground, has been conclusively 
 
54 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 proved by the well-known veterinary surgeon, Mr. 
 «T. I. Lupton. 
 
 ' The foot of a living horse in a state of rest re- 
 mains firmly on the ground — that is, the toe and the 
 heel are on the ground at one and the same time. 
 But if, during this position, the extensor muscles 
 were to contract, then the toe would be raised from 
 the ground. If, on the other hand, the flexor muscles 
 were to contract, then the heel would be raised from 
 the ground. 
 
 'Now, during progression, the first movement 
 which takes place is the contraction of the flexor 
 muscles, by which (together with the muscles of the 
 arm) the foot is raised, the toe being the last part of 
 that organ raised from the ground. The foot is now 
 in a position to be sent forward, which is brought 
 about by the contraction of the extensor muscles. 
 The foot is then thrown out as far as the flexor 
 muscles will admit, and, when at the greatest allow- 
 able point of extension, the heel is brought in a posi- 
 tion with the ground. 
 
 ' The flexors now in their turn contract, the heel 
 is first raised from the ground, and lastly the toe, 
 which brings me back to the point I started from. 
 
 'Three principal impressions are made on the 
 foot during progression, namely : — 
 
 ' (1) On the heel, when great expansion and 
 
INSTANTANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHS. 55 
 
 yielding takes place, owing to the pressure on the 
 frog, which is forced upwards, causing the ultimate 
 expansion of the walls of the hoof, &c. 
 
 ' (2) On the middle part of the foot, when the 
 bones bear the weight of the body, the flexors and 
 extensors being for the instant in a state of quietude 
 — i.e. neither of them are extending or contracting. 
 
 * (3) In the toe, when the animal gives a push, 
 by which an impetus is given to send the body 
 forward.' 
 
 These words were written as long ago as 1858, 
 and have since received exact corroboration in the 
 instantaneous photographs of the horse's action, with 
 which we are now so familiar. 
 
 It may seem to some persons a matter of little or 
 no consequence whether the heel or toe should first 
 come to the ground during progression. In reality, 
 it is of the very last importance, and, as we shall see 
 in a future page, does not only affect the hoof, but is 
 intimately connected with the whole of the muscles 
 which the horse uses in progression, and with the 
 nerves which supply these muscles with energy. 
 
 The reader is requested to bear in mind that the 
 hoof only expands laterally, and that on and near the 
 toe the expansion is so trifling, that it may be practi- 
 cally disregarded. Reference will again be made to 
 this fact. 
 
56 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Expansion acknowledged, acted, upon, and perverted — Authorised direc- 
 tions for shoeing — ' Thinning ' and ' opening ' — Horseshoeing in 
 England and America — ' Dew-drops,' i.e. oozing blood — The diseases 
 called by the name of 'thrush' — True causes of thrush — Supply of 
 blood to hoof — Nature's balance of supply and waste — Office of the 
 blood — ' Thrush ' a safety-valve for inflamed blood — Derivation of the 
 word ' founder ' — ' Thrush ' never seen in wild horses — A compre- 
 hensive challenge — Where do wild horses keep their knives ? — The 
 frog again — Lieutenant Douglas on the frog and its value. Mr. T. 
 Gepp's experience. 
 
 Some of those who asserted, and rightly, that the 
 hoof expanded when the weight of the horse rested 
 upon it, attempted to improve nature by art, and, 
 with the very best intention, contrived to do a 
 wonderful amount of damage to the animal. Of 
 course, they assumed that the horse must be shod in 
 the usual manner. Then, they forgot that the hoof 
 would not expand unless the weight of the horse 
 rested primarily on the frog, the ' mainstay of the 
 foot,' as Mr. Douglas calls it ; and lastly, most of them 
 forgot that the iron shoe would prevent the hoof 
 from either expanding or contracting. Some, how- 
 
DIRECTIONS TO FARRIERS. 57 
 
 ever, did recognise this fact, and invented shoes in 
 two pieces, so that expansion was not hindered. 
 
 So, thinking that the thick and rigid sole was an 
 obstacle to expansion instead of being one of the 
 means by which expansion is accomplished, and also 
 assuming that the expansion was in all directions, and 
 much greater than is really the case, they believed 
 that by thinning the interior of the hoof they would 
 increase its power of expansion. So they issued the 
 following directions to the farrier when he prepares a 
 horse for the shoe : — 
 
 ' Pare the sole until it yields to the pressure of 
 the thumb. 
 
 ' Cut the walls down until they are but little 
 higher than the contiguous sole, taking care to 
 shorten the toe if necessary, it being frequently left 
 too long. 
 
 1 Cut away the bars, so as to make a gradual 
 slope from the wall to the bottom of the commis- 
 sures, which must be deepened. 
 
 1 Lower and open the heels, taking the bearing off 
 them for at least an inch on each side of the frog, so 
 that the walls at these parts will not be in immediate 
 contact with the shoe when first put on. 
 
 'Pay special attention to the removal of the 
 " pegs " (the hard horny substance which grows 
 down at each side of the frog, and contiguous to it). 
 
58 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 These pegs are apt to contract the foot, or make it 
 thrushy, by pinching and narrowing the frog. 
 
 ' The frog may be pared to stimulate its growth, 
 and the cleft opened ; otherwise it may be left un- 
 touched,' &c. 
 
 These directions for shoeing on * improved prin- 
 ciples ' are taken verbatim from the ' United States' 
 Army Tactics on Horseshoeing,' and are quoted by 
 Mr. M. I. Treacy, Veterinarian to the 7th Cavalry, 
 in an article on Horseshoeing in The United Service 
 Magazine for February 1884. 
 
 One excuse — I cannot call it a reason— for open- 
 ing the heel and thinning the sole would be comical, 
 but for the injury which it has wrought to thousands 
 of horses. The advocates of the knife say that they 
 are aware of the sensitive and delicate structure of 
 the interior of the hoof, and that the operations of 
 opening and thinning are necessary to preserve those 
 structures. According to them, in this climate the 
 horny parts of the hoof have too rapid a growth 
 (why or how is not stated), so that they prevent 
 expansion, and pinch the internal structures. So, 
 by ' thinning the sole until it yields to the pressure 
 of the thumb,' and cutting through the heel, they 
 think that the internal structures are relieved from 
 constriction ! Mayhew very quaintly and truly says 
 that it would be just as sensible to thin and 
 
AN ' IMPROVED HOOP. 
 
 59 
 
 open the skull for the purpose of protecting the 
 brain. 
 
 Here is a figure of a hoof in my possession which 
 has been treated according to these directions. It 
 was drawn by the late Mr. Sherwin from the actual 
 specimen, which was by no means the worst that 
 I have seen. 
 
 I will now proceed to show what is the result of 
 thus preparing the hoof, first, however, mentioning that 
 the directions which are here 
 given are followed both in Eng- 
 land and America. While on a 
 tour through the Northern States 
 in the winter of 1883, 1 delivered 
 lectures on this subject in many 
 places. One well-known writer 
 and lecturer took umbrage at my 
 statements, and had the hardi- 
 hood to assert, both by pen and on the platform, that 
 in America the frogs of the horses were not cut away, 
 nor the soles pared. Yet, being in America, I took 
 my descriptions, not from our English customs but 
 from American sources, one, as the reader may have 
 seen, being stamped with official authority. 
 
 The first direction is, to pare the sole until it 
 yields to the pressure of the thumb. In many cases 
 this paring of the sole — I again use American autho- 
 
 HOOF IMPROVED BY 
 THE FAERIEE. 
 
60 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 rities — is carried so far that blood-specks (' dew- 
 drops,' as they are euphemistically termed) ooze 
 through the thinned horn. Just see what this means. 
 One of the chief duties of the sole is to protect the 
 sensitive structures within the hoof from sharp stones 
 and similar objects. 
 
 It is difficult to persuade many people that 
 the Creator really did know how to make a horse, 
 and that divine handiwork cannot very well be im- 
 proved by man. But, a horse, whose hoof is left as 
 Nature made it, cares nothing about pebbles or even 
 broken flints, but can gallop among them without 
 being even aware of their presence, so dense and 
 strong is the horn of the sole. 
 
 Within the last four weeks, an unshod mare 
 belonging to one of my friends ran away with her 
 mistress, who was driving her in an ordinary chaise. 
 The road had been newly laid with loose stones, but 
 she galloped for nearly two miles before she was 
 stopped. I examined ' Dolly's ' hoof a few days after- 
 wards, and found that they had suffered no injury 
 from the sharp points and edges of the stones. A 
 shod horse could scarcely have escaped laming. 
 
 But, when the sole is pared until it is not so 
 thick as an ordinary visiting card, it is evident that 
 the pressure of a stone must cause the severest pain. 
 Moreover, this paring of the sole exposes the ' linea 
 
OPENING THE HEEL. 61 
 
 alba,' which, as I have already mentioned, is iden- 
 tical with the ' quick ' of the nail, and equally sensi- 
 tive. 
 
 Unfortunately, when a shod horse picks up a 
 stone, the intruding object is always jammed between 
 the shoe and the sole, and must press upon the linea 
 alba. An unshod horse which has perfect hoofs 
 cannot pick up a stone, for the simple reason that 
 there is no room for it. Let the reader look at the 
 figure of an unshod hoof on p. 34, and he will see 
 that it would be perfectly impossible for the animal 
 to pick up a stone, the frog filling almost the entire 
 cavity of the hoof. 
 
 Having now weakened and thinned the sole as 
 much as possible, the farrier is directed to cut down 
 the wall until it is scarcely higher than the sole. 
 This proceeding is ingeniously contrived so as to 
 bring the weakened sole within reach of the smallest 
 pebble. 
 
 Next, the bars are attacked, and then the heels 
 ' opened ' ; this last operation being analogous to 
 removing the keystone of an arch. With regard to 
 the mode in which this system is carried out, 
 Mr. Fleming writes as follows : — ' I have seen in 
 forges, where horses were shod on " improved prin- 
 ciples," the blood oozing from the sole, which had 
 been pared as thin as parchment, as well as from 
 
62 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 the frog, through the semi-translucent substance of 
 which, so thin had it been made, the bright red and 
 exceedingly sensitive living membrane beneath could 
 here and there be distinctly seen. Not unfrequently, 
 also, I have noticed blood issuing from the bottom 
 of the deep notches cut off nearly as far as the hairs 
 at the heel.' 
 
 Then the ' pegs ' are to be removed, on the ground 
 that they contract the frog, and cause ' thrush.' It is 
 impossible to surpass this statement in its extraordi- 
 nary mixture of ignorance and presumption. If it 
 were true, every wild horse, or every horse, previous 
 to its introduction to the farrier, must be liable to 
 thrush ; whereas, no horse that had never been shod 
 could by any possibility be afflicted with thrush. 
 
 What is the ailment which we call thrush, and 
 what is its cause ? The presence of the disease is 
 made known by the horribly smelling purulent dis- 
 charge which is formed in the interior of the hoof, 
 and which at last exudes from it. In bad cases, 
 it can be detected at some distance by the sense of 
 smell alone. The word is a sort of generic term, and 
 is applied very loosely to any disease which causes 
 internal inflammation and consequent discharge of 
 pus. 
 
 The disease is wholly owing to the shoe, and is 
 thus caused. Again, at the risk of being tedious, 
 
CAUSES OF 'THRUSH.' 63 
 
 1 must repeat that the structure of the hoof im- 
 peratively demands that the wall, frog, and sole shall 
 each be called into play, each be worn away natu- 
 rally, and each be perpetually reproduced. 
 
 Although intended to benefit the horse, the or- 
 dinary shoe does it a serious injury in frustrating 
 each of these requirements. As the iron of the shoe 
 is interposed between the wall and the ground, the 
 horn of the Avail cannot be worn away, especially in 
 front, where the friction is greatest, and where the 
 horn grows fastest. As the frog is cut away, it 
 cannot take the weight of the horse as it ought to do, 
 and therefore communicates no movement either to 
 the sole or the lamina? of the wall, and so there is 
 /none of the incessant expansion and contraction 
 which the hoof requires. 
 
 I need hardly explain that all repair of organic 
 waste is effected by means of blood, and that the 
 supply of blood is proportioned to the amount of 
 work to be done by it. 
 
 Now. if the skin be stripped off the shank of the 
 horse, the bone will be seen surrounded with a series 
 of very large arteries and veins, intended to carry 
 blood into and from the hoof, so as to supply the 
 continual waste of the horn, the arteries and veins 
 exactly balancing each other. But when that waste 
 is checked, the balance of circulation is destroyed. 
 
64 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 The blood is continually forced into the hoof for the 
 purpose of doing its work ; but there is very little 
 work to be clone, so that the blood cannot be carried 
 out of the hoof by the veins as fast as it is pumped 
 in through the arteries. 
 
 Consequently, the smaller vessels become gorged, 
 and the flow of blood impeded. Gradually, conges- 
 tion comes on, which before long developes into in- 
 flammation. Then, the semi stagnant and inflamed 
 blood reaches such a stage that decomposition sets 
 in, and the blood which ought to have passed 
 through the circulation in a natural manner is forced 
 to make its exit in the form of pus, the aperture 
 which it makes for itself being a sort of safety- valve 
 not only for the hoof, but for the whole circulatory 
 system. 
 
 By the way, the word ' founder,' which is applied 
 to any disease of the sensitive laminas when it has 
 advanced sufficiently far to lame the horse, is a 
 curious example of the ignorance which seems to be 
 the invariable inheritance of those who have most 
 to do with horses. It is a corruption of the French 
 word fondre, signifying to melt, and was used because 
 the farriers believed that the fat of the horse melted 
 out of his body, and ran down his leg into his 
 hoofs ! 
 
 A corresponding version of the same word is a 
 
* FUNDIED ' CHEESE. 65 
 
 familiar term at Oxford, where some of the college 
 servants possess a special recipe for preparing 
 * fundied ' cheese. The cheese is cut up, put into a 
 ' fundy ' — i.e. a flat vessel made for the purpose, some 
 of the best ale is added to it, and it is heated and 
 stirred until the cheese and beer are melted together 
 to the consistency of treacle. 
 
 Thrush has nothing to do with contraction of the 
 frog, though it is produced by cutting away the 
 frog, and surrounding the wall with unyielding iron. 
 Yet — probably because thrush shows itself in the 
 neighbourhood of the frog — the opinion that the frog 
 produces thrush is prevalent even among those who 
 ought to know better. 
 
 A year or two ago I had been lecturing on the 
 horse's hoof. According to my invariable custom, 
 I began my lecture with a disavowal of any attempt 
 to lay down the law on this very difficult subject. I 
 begged that any of the audience would at once 
 contradict any statement which they thought to be 
 mistaken. I also mentioned that I would wait on 
 the platform after the lecture for half an hour, so that 
 any disputed point might be thoroughly investigated. 
 
 Xo one challenged any remark during the lecture, 
 nor for at least half an hour, during which I re- 
 mained on the platform after the conclusion of the 
 lecture. But a local veterinary surgeon, who was 
 
 F 
 
06 HOKSE AND MAN. 
 
 present at the lecture, wrote a letter to a local 
 journal, saying that I was entirely mistaken in stating 
 that the frog ought to rest on the ground, and assert- 
 ing, moreover, that thrush was produced by neglect- 
 ing to pare the frog and cut away the flaps that hang 
 from it. 
 
 Anonymous attacks I never answer, but as this 
 man did have the honesty to append his name to his 
 letter, and did not employ personal abuse in lieu of 
 argument, I sent an answer. In it I asked him 
 where wild horses kept the knives wherewith they 
 pared their frogs. Next, I told him that if he could 
 produce a thrushy hoof of a horse which had never 
 been shod, I would first eat my words, and then the 
 hoof, thrush and all. 
 
 This event occurred in England, but I have un- 
 dergone a very similar experience in America, the 
 opponent having lacked the courage to attack me 
 on the platform though he was present at the lec- 
 ture, and having written letters against me in the 
 local journals, and publicly spoken against me after 
 I had left the country and could not answer. 
 
 As we are on the subject of the frog, we may as 
 well continue it. 
 
 I have already mentioned that the frog was made 
 for the express purpose of resting upon the ground, 
 so as to perform a threefold office. 
 
USES OF THE FROG. 67 
 
 In the first place it is soft and yielding, so as to 
 take off the jar which would ensue if the horse trod 
 first upon the wall. 
 
 In the next place, it communicates the pressure 
 through the sole to the walls, so as to enable the 
 hoof to expand and contract laterally. 
 
 Lieutenant Douglas, in his valuable work on 
 horseshoeing, is very emphatic on this point : — 
 
 ' A little reflection on this important subject will 
 show how very important frog-pressure is, as, even 
 when the horse is resting as he stands in the stall, 
 some portion of his weight must fall from the lower 
 pastern bone upon the navicular bone, which rests 
 upon the back sinew, which in its turn should receive 
 support from the sensitive and insensitive parts of 
 the frog underneath it. 
 
 * How much more then must this necessary sup- 
 port be needed when the animal is in motion, espe- 
 cially if at a fast gallop, or landing on hard ground 
 after being leaped over a hedge. If the frog is there 
 to receive the shock, the horse lands on his feet with 
 all the ease and comfort that a cat does upon hers 
 after a jump ; but when the frog has been cut away 
 there is nothing to break the fall, and, as is often 
 the case, the animal is ruined by the jar having 
 brought on irritation of the sheath which covers the 
 back sinew, and inflammation sets in. 
 
 v 2 
 
68 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 * La Posse describes this action as a " compression," 
 fitly comparing the process of the lower pastern bone 
 squeezing the navicular bone on the top of the tendon 
 to the action of the hammer upon the anvil.' 
 
 Thirdly, it is intended to cling to smooth and 
 wet surfaces, which its indiarubber-like consistency 
 enables it to do. The late Mr. T. M. Gepp, of 
 Chelmsford, a veteran Nimrod, told me that when he 
 was in Palestine, the horses at first absolutely terrified 
 him by the way in which they sprang from rock to 
 rock, the frog enabling them to cling to any smooth 
 surface on which they might alight, and the sharply 
 edged wall hitching upon the slightest irregularity. 
 
69 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The prog continued — ' Hammering ' on the roads Cause of the ham- 
 mering — King Theodore's horse ' Hainmel ' — Elasticity of the frog — 
 The ' Village Blacksmith ' — The bicycle wheel — Analogy between 
 carriage springs and the horse's hoof — Lodgment of stones — Mr. S. 
 Chapin and his bare-footed horse — Hartmann's safety pad — Spiked 
 shoes — American shoeing — Injury to the untouched frog impossible — 
 ' Greasy ' roads — Manchester ' lurry ' horses — The streets of Man- 
 chester — A doctor's horses — Shoes of lurry horses — Ludgate Hill and 
 its terrors — Lieut. Douglas's testimony — Indiarubber soles on ice and 
 on board ship — The hoof an organ of touch — Mr. J. Bellows's story — 
 1 Free Lance's ' view of the frog and its uses — Relative dependence of 
 the frog and navicular bone. 
 
 Softness of tread is an exceedingly valuable pro- 
 perty in a horse. We know how ' it ain't the 'untin' 
 as 'urts the 'orses, but the 'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer, 
 on the 'ard 'igh roads/ The worthy and afflicted 
 groom was perfectly right. This incessant hammer- 
 ing, which is exceedingly injurious to the horse, is 
 entirely owing to the shoe, an unshod horse treading 
 almost as noiselessly as an elephant does, and being 
 delightfully easy to the rider. 
 
 The first adult working horse which I ever saw 
 unshod was ' Hammel,' the war-horse of the late 
 
70 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 King Theodore of Abyssinia. He was shown in a 
 menagerie, and after I had inspected his hoofs care- 
 fully, I remarked to the exhibitor that I presumed 
 him to be kept for show and not for use. But the 
 proprietor assured me that he took his share of the 
 work with the other horses, and that when travelling 
 from one place to another he was regularly harnessed 
 to the vans or carts. 
 
 Farriers and grooms are, as a rule, impressed 
 with an idea that because the frog is soft, it will be 
 hurt by coining upon a hard road. So, with the 
 very best intentions, they cut it off either partially 
 or entirely. 
 
 There is now before me an entire frog which was 
 cut off at a single stroke of the farrier's knife. It 
 was taken from the floor of a forge by General 
 Carter, a well-known lover of horses. It seems 
 strange that such an idea should prevail in these 
 * cycling ' days, when indiarubber tires have been 
 practically found not only to be more pleasant for the 
 rider than the old steel-faced tires, but experience 
 has proved that the soft elastic indiarubber tire is 
 far more lasting than one which is made of steel. 
 
 Suppose that we revert to the parallel of the 
 horse's hoof and the railway carriage spring. In 
 the accompanying illustration, fig. 1 represents the 
 spring, which is made of a number of flat strips of 
 
CARRIAGE-SPRINGS. 
 
 71 
 
 steel, the bearing being at a. Now, supposing that 
 a village blacksmith, who knew nothing about ma- 
 chinery, were to be placed in charge of the engine, 
 he would probably be dissatisfied with the spring as 
 being inadequate to its work, and therefore danger- 
 ous. ' It will never answer,' he might say, ' to trust 
 the weight of a heavy engine on a few strips of steel, 
 any one of which might break, upset the engine, and 
 throw it off the line.' So he would cut away the 
 
 B B 
 
 RAILWAY SPRING AND HORSE'S HOOF. 
 
 central bearing, as shown by the dotted line at a, 
 and substitute heavy blocks of iron, as shown at 
 B B, thus abrogating the springs, and throwing the 
 bearing to the sides instead of the centre. 
 
 This proceeding may seem very absurd, but it is 
 not one whit less ridiculous than the mode in which 
 the farrier of the present time treats the hoof of the 
 horse, and, in fact, is almost identical with it. 
 
 In fig. 2 a diagrammatic section of the hoof and 
 
72 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 shoe is given, as seen from the front. A represents 
 the double frog, which was intended by nature to 
 rest upon the ground, and form a central bearing like 
 that of the wheel at a in fig. 1. This is more or less 
 cut away, at all events sufficiently to keep it off the 
 ground. Then a thick unyielding iron shoe is nailed 
 on the hoof, so as to take the bearing from the 
 centre, where it was meant to be, and to throw it 
 to the circumference, as at B B, where it has no 
 business, and where it positively injures the animal 
 by causing a jar at every step. 
 
 I may here mention that the space which is left 
 between the shoe and the wall, as shown at c c, is 
 the place where stones lodge, and into which, as we 
 know, they become wedged so firmly, that even the 
 4 picker,' with which all horse riders or drivers 
 ought to be furnished, cannot remove it without 
 the use of considerable force. The reader will see 
 how a stone which is thus lodged must press upon 
 the denuded linea alba, and why it is that a 
 horse falls suddenly when such a misfortune hap- 
 pens. 
 
 If the reader will refer to the natural hoof shown 
 on p. 34, he will see that no stone can possibly lodge 
 in it. 
 
 Lastly, we will take the third duty of the frog — 
 i.e. the power of clinging to slippery and smooth 
 
THE HORSE ON ICE. to 
 
 surfaces. A hoof which has been untouched by man 
 will scarcely ever slip. This is not theory, but a 
 proved fact, and here is a case in point. 
 
 Mr. S. Chapin, of Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., is well 
 known for his love of horses, and for his practical 
 experience with them. Among his horses was one 
 which he had owned about seven years, and from 
 which, after considerable qualms, and against uni- 
 versal advice, he removed the shoes altogether. 
 After some experience he wrote as follows, dating 
 his letter December 15, 1883 : — 
 
 ' I now drive my horse up hill and down, and 
 over pavements, crossings, &c. I never expect to 
 see a harder winter for ice than we had here in 
 Lowell last year, when some of my neighbours 
 sharpened their horses' shoes twice a week, and I 
 drove all the winter (and pretty sharp too) without 
 a shoe, and without slipping either.' I have before 
 me a long list of English gentlemen who have much 
 the same experience. 
 
 Here is a curious example of the involuntary 
 homage done by man to nature. 
 
 About four years ago, in the course of a conver- 
 sation with the late Mr. F. Fordham Flower, whose 
 successful crusade against the bearing rein is well 
 known, the question of 'roughing' horses' shoes in 
 winter was mentioned. Mr. Flower said that there 
 
74 
 
 HORSE AND MAX. 
 
 was a very much better plan than roughing — namely, 
 the adoption of Hartmann's Safety Pad, which had 
 the advantage of being easily removed when the 
 horse entered the stable after his work. 
 
 He also told me that, having heard of this pad, 
 he took his carriage to Messrs. Martingale, who 
 supply it, and had it fitted to his horses at the door. 
 The animals went so easily, although they had pre- 
 viously been slipping at every step, that he took 
 
 them to a spot where ice 
 
 had formed upon the road. 
 The horses went over it at 
 a trot, and from that time 
 he had no trouble with 
 them. 
 
 I at once went to 
 Messrs. Martingale, who 
 kindly gave me one or 
 two specimens, and explained the mode of use. 
 
 As the reader may see, the pad is composed of 
 thick indiarubber, with three thin steel flanges. By 
 means of a sort of tongs or pincers the pad can be 
 bent longitudinally, so as to allow the flanges to 
 be slipped under the shoe. When the pressure of 
 the tongs is relaxed, the pad resumes its shape by 
 its own elasticity, and is firmly held in its place 
 by the flanges. When the horse comes home, the 
 
 HARTMANN S SAFETY PAD. 
 
SAFETY PADS. 75 
 
 pad, which is, in fact, an artificial frog, can be removed 
 by the tongs as easily as it was applied. 
 
 In the illustration the upper face of the pad is 
 given, showing the groove into which is received the 
 frog which has been cut according to the modern 
 ' improved ' system. The lower face, which comes 
 upon the ground, has no definite groove, but is 
 fashioned according to the shape oi the untouched 
 frog. 
 
 So we have again an acknowledgment that nature 
 is right and man wrong. 
 
 Ratueallt, the horse's hoof is furnished with a 
 soft elastic pad, which prevents the animal from slip- 
 ping. So, man cuts away the natural pad, and be- 
 cause the horse slips, is obliged to furnish the iron 
 shoe with spikes. 
 
 Now, however well these spikes are made, no 
 matter whether they be part of the shoe or whether 
 they be added to it, they are soon worn down and 
 become useless. In any case they are contrary to 
 the natural step of the horse, and are awkward for 
 walking. If they be part of the shoe, they cause 
 the greatest inconvenience while the horse is in the 
 stable, and if they be screwed or driven into holes 
 made in the shoe, they are apt to snap off when any 
 great strain is thrown on them. 
 
76 HOESE AND MAX. 
 
 The result of all this experience is that the Hart- 
 mann's pad was invented. It is liable to neither 
 of these defects, is very lasting, but is, after all, 
 nothing more or less than an artificial reproduction 
 of the natural pad which the farrier has cut away 
 in unthinking obedience to routine. As to expense, 
 this pad does not cost much, and when it is worn 
 out, another can be procured at a small price. But 
 the natural pad, or frog, which is necessarily far 
 superior to any imitation, costs nothing at all, and 
 never can be worn out, because it has the faculty 
 of reproducing itself as fast as it is worn away. 
 
 I noticed that in America the fact that the frog 
 ought to come to the ground is more generally 
 recognised than is the case in England. But even 
 there the shoe is, as a rule, nailed upon the wall, so 
 that the frog has to grow to an abnormal extent 
 before it can reach the ground, and therefore does 
 not have fair play. The only shoe which really 
 recognises the duties of the frog, and does not inter- 
 fere with them, is the ' Charlier,' which will pre- 
 sently be described. 
 
 As for any fear that the frog may be injured 
 by contact with the ground, it may be dismissed 
 from our minds. As was well pointed out by 
 'Kangaroo,' in The Field newspaper, it is impos- 
 sible for a horse to become footsore in the frog, 
 
MANCHESTER ' LURRY ' HORSES. 77 
 
 sole, or heel of its foot, as a result of travelling 
 barefoot.' 
 
 I have already mentioned the effect of the safety- 
 pad, and a fortiori of the frog upon ice. But icy 
 roads are only to be found in winter time, and that 
 not in every year. I believe that in the winter of 
 1883-4 there was no ice in the streets of London, 
 England seeming to have sent her share of ice and 
 snow to America, where I was staying from October 
 1883 to April 1884. 
 
 Still, many of our roads present surfaces which, 
 under certain conditions, are nearly as slippery as 
 ice, even in the warm weather, and on which even 
 a man, who has neither a weight to carry nor a load 
 to draw, can hardly keep his footing. Manchester, 
 for example, in dull, misty weather has a faculty of 
 producing, in combination with smoke, a sort of 
 greasy mixture, which feels to the feet as if the road 
 and pavement had been coated with lard. This 
 greasiness is fearfully trying to horses, especially to 
 the magnificent animals which draw the great 
 * lurries.' In spite of the deep calks and toe pieces 
 with which their shoes are armed, and which make 
 them look as if they were walking on pattens, they 
 slip and slide about in a most pitiful manner, the 
 terror which they are suffering being too plainly 
 visible in the expression of their eyes. 
 
78 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Yet I have handled horses belonging to a 
 Manchester physician, which trotted freely and easily 
 over this slippery surface, merely because their 
 owner was wise enough to leave the hoof as nature 
 made it. 
 
 If any road ever made by man could damage a 
 horse's hoof, those of Manchester would stand pre- 
 eminent. On account of the enormous weights which 
 are carried on the lurries — i.e. huge, broad-wheeled 
 waggons, the roads have to be made of corresponding 
 strength. Beneath the actual pavement there is a 
 thick layer of concrete, on which are laid the granite 
 blocks which constitute the roadway. 
 
 These blocks are shaped like gigantic bricks, and 
 are laid on their edges, the upper angles being 
 bevelled off, so as to leave a deep groove round each 
 stone. These grooves are intended to prevent the 
 horses from slipping, the calkins and toe pieces being 
 supposed to catch in them. The effect on wheels 
 and shoes can only be realised by actual experience. 
 
 As to wheels, any one who has been obliged to 
 take a cab in Manchester, and to drive fast in order 
 to catch a train, will not be very likely to forget his 
 experience for the next day or two. 
 
 As to shoes. I have before me a lurry-horse- 
 shoe which I procured in Manchester. It has been 
 fitted with a bar-calkin rather more than two inches 
 
LUDGATE HILL. 79 
 
 in depth, while the front of the shoe had a toe-bar of 
 the same depth and seven-eighths of an inch in thick- 
 ness. Yet, the toe -bar, after about three weeks' wear, 
 has been so rubbed down that scarcely a quarter of 
 an inch remains. 
 
 Still, even this exceptionally hard and rough pav- 
 ing did not injure the hoofs of horses which were 
 unprotected with iron shoes. 
 
 Very smooth pavements, such as those of wood 
 and asphalte, especially in sloping ground, are apt, 
 particularly when wet, to cause horses to slip and 
 fall. A very familiar example of such a pavement is 
 to be found in Ludgate Hill, which is the scene of 
 more accidents to horses than perhaps any other 
 track of similar length in the whole of London. 
 
 Ludgate Hill is the terror of drivers, who speak 
 of it as if it were Mont Blanc. Yet, it is not at all a 
 long nor a steep hill. The length is only about two 
 hundred yards, and the rise not quite nine yards — a 
 mere trifle. Yet, in damp, and especially in 'greasy' 
 weather as it is called, horses are constantly falling 
 upon Ludgate Hill. 
 
 Fallen horses are so common that few people 
 take the trouble to stop and look at their hoofs. If 
 they were to do so, the cause of the fall would be at 
 once evident. 
 
 The natural safety-pad of the hoof, which would 
 
80 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 have clung to the smooth and slippery surface, has 
 been cut away by the farrier, while the under surface 
 of the shoe has been rubbed down by friction, until 
 it offers only a flat polished metal surface, seldom 
 less than half an inch in width, and often more. Of 
 course the shoe slips and the horse falls. The india- 
 rubber pad would have given the horse a firm foot- 
 ing, and much more so would the natural safety pad 
 or frog. 
 
 A similar sight to that which is described below 
 may be seen on Ludgate Hill on any wet day. The 
 writer is Lieut. W. Douglas, late of the 10th Hussars, 
 and therefore a competent observer. The passage 
 occurs in the preface to his book on horseshoeing, 
 and is quoted by ' Free Lance ' in ' Horses and Eoads : ' 
 
 ' Passing down Ludgate Hill one day, my atten- 
 tion was drawn to the pitiful condition of a horse in 
 the shafts of a large waggon. The poor animal was 
 not drawing the load, but was being driven down the 
 descent by the crushing weight behind ; and utterly 
 unable, from the manner in which it was shod, to 
 withstand the pressure, it had gathered its hind legs 
 well under and its fore legs in advance of its body, in 
 a hopeless struggle to avert the fall which it too 
 evidently knew was at hand. 
 
 ' Never did I witness such a picture of powerless 
 terror as that horse presented, as with eyes starting, 
 
SHIP SHOES. 81 
 
 body shaking, and knees stiffened, it was carried 
 downwards against its will, until, the fore and hind 
 feet slipping in the same direction, it came down 
 upon its left side with a crash. The thought of 
 what that poor beast must have suffered, even before 
 it fell, has haunted me ever since.' 
 
 The waggon in question seems to have been un- 
 provided with a brake, but Mr. Douglas is of opinion 
 that if the horse had been allowed to possess its frogs 
 in their natural state, it could even have controlled 
 the pressure from behind. 
 
 I never realised the value of the frog on a smooth, 
 wet, sloping wooden surface until my second voyage 
 across the Atlantic. 
 
 On the outward voyage I had been greatly incon- 
 venienced, not to say endangered, by the slipperiness 
 of the deck and the soles of my boots. ' Sea-legs ' 
 are very useful in their way, but when the vessel 
 rolls, sea-legs are quite useless in preventing the 
 voyager from sliding down the deck if he be above, 
 or down the saloon floor if he be below, and in all 
 probability damaging himself seriously by being flung 
 against the gunwale or the saloon furniture. 
 
 So, just before the return voyage, I had a slight 
 layer of vulcanised indiarubber, not thicker than an 
 ordinary playing card, affixed to the soles of the 
 boots, shoes, and slippers which I meant to wear on 
 
 G 
 
82 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 board. The effect was almost magical. We had a 
 very rough passage, but even when a promenade on 
 deck looked like walking on the wet slates of a 
 house-roof, the indiarubber clung to the smooth 
 boards of the deck above, or to the carpet of the 
 saloon below, and I never once had a fall. 
 
 This experience enabled me to understand practi- 
 cally what is the worth of the frog to the horse, and 
 how the working power of the animal is diminished 
 by removing the frog, and throwing the weight of 
 the horse upon the flat, smooth surface of the iron 
 hoof. 
 
 As to the calkins which are so persistently em- 
 ployed as preventives of slipping, I shall soon have 
 something more to say of them. 
 
 It may seem almost incredible that the hoof of 
 the horse can be strong enough to resist the hardest 
 or the stoniest road, and yet be so wonderfully con- 
 stituted as to be an organ of touch. Yet, as will be 
 seen from the following narrative, such is really the 
 case. 
 
 Some five years ago I had the pleasure of making 
 the acquaintance of Mr. John Bellows, of Glouces- 
 ter, the author of the celebrated French dictionary. 
 He is a member of the Society of Friends, and one of 
 the few who retain the phraseology of George Fox's 
 day. Like most members of the society, he has a 
 
THE HOUSE AND THE CHILD. 83 
 
 great tenderness for animals and especially for horses, 
 and has taken a pleasure in treasuring authentic 
 anecdotes of his favourites. He told me the follow- 
 ing narrative, and at my request committed it to 
 writing. 
 
 The reader will pardon the insertion of the last 
 clause, but it is too characteristic to be omitted : — 
 
 East Gate, Gloucester : December 4, 1879. 
 
 ' When my father was quite a little child, of 
 perhaps three or four years old, he horrified his 
 mother by trotting across the street in front of their 
 house, in the village of Bere Eegis, and tripping up 
 exactly in front of a team of horses drawing a heavy 
 waggon. 
 
 CO 
 
 ' As he fell, the leader horse set his great hoof on 
 the child's head, and his mother expected to pick 
 him up dead. But no ! He used to say that all 
 his life afterwards he kept a most distinct remem- 
 brance of the soft and gentle touch of the horse's 
 foot pressing him to the ground " like a sponge," 
 and holding him there until his mother relieved 
 him. 
 
 ' The horse had pulled up in the twinkling of an 
 eye, and brought the rest of the team to a standstill. 
 But he knew that the child was safer lying still than 
 wandering among heels and wheels ; and there he 
 
 a 2 
 
84 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 kept him, or I should not at this moment be able to 
 
 sign myself 
 
 *Thy sincere friend, and father of 
 
 several of thy admirers, 
 
 ' John Bellows.' 
 
 In this case, the proceedings of the horse were 
 the more remarkable, because the hoof was shod, 
 and therefore its sensitive capacity must have been 
 cramped. I am always glad to receive information 
 from members of the Society of Friends, because their 
 scrupulous regard for truth and avoidance of ex- 
 aggeration gives to their narratives an additional 
 
 DO ~ 
 
 value. 
 
 ' Free Lance ' puts the point very well in the follow- 
 ing words : ' The frog is a natural calk, but it must 
 have fair play. It is pointed in front like a plough- 
 share to offer resistance in one direction. To offer 
 resistance in the contrary direction it is semi-cloven, 
 and thus it offers a double resistance, for the very 
 evident reason that a horse needs more aid to go 
 ahead than he does to stop himself. Yet the two 
 ends have been rightly balanced by nature, if we 
 could only see the thing as such.' 
 
 So much, then, for the frog and its value to horse 
 and therefore to man. The idea of paring it for the 
 purpose of stimulating its growth is ludicrously 
 absurd. The best way of stimulating the growth of 
 
NAVICULAR DISEASE. 85 
 
 the frog or of any other organ is to let it do its 
 proper work without hindrance. 
 
 There is another objection to cutting away the 
 frog, but this, as it relates to internal structure, the 
 illiterate farrier is not likely to know, nor to under- 
 stand it if he be told. 
 
 The navicular bone, the importance of which 
 in the mechanism of the foot has already been de- 
 scribed, lies between the arms of the V like frog, 
 and if the frog be weakened by the knife, a wrong 
 strain is thrown on the navicular bone, which is then 
 tolerably sure to become the seat of inflammation. 
 Navicular disease is never found in the wild horse, 
 nor in our own horses until the farrier has worked 
 his will with their hoofs. 
 
86 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Horseshoeing on ' improved principles ' — Hot-fitting — ' Clips ' and their 
 origin — Groove cutting in the hoof — Natural thatch of the coronet — 
 Natural varnish of the hoof — Abuse of the rasp — Blacking hoofs — 
 Effect of grease on the hoof — ' Stopping' hoofs — The 'bottle of oils' 
 — Its effect on the hoof — Drugs in stables — Horses poisoned — Thirty 
 thus lost by one owner — Anti-drug Association — The rashness of 
 ignorance. 
 
 On account of the extreme importance of the frog, 
 it has been necessary to give a considerable amount 
 of space to it. We will now revert to the ' improved 
 principles ' of horseshoeing. 
 
 After having seen the havoc which has already been 
 made in the hoof by the farrier, it might reasonably 
 be doubted whether more mischief could possibly be 
 done, and whether the hoof could be further injured. 
 Human ingenuity, however, proved itself equal even 
 to this task, and ' hot shoeing ' and ' clipping ' were 
 invented, both, as usual, for the benefit of the 
 horse. 
 
 4 Hot-fitting ' or shoeing is thus accomplished. 
 
 1 In fitting the shoe, the coaptation between it 
 and the hoof should be as close as possible. This 
 
c HOT-FITTING.' 87 
 
 can most readily be secured by applying the shoe 
 at a high temperature, and for the briefest space of 
 time, to the part on which it is to rest. By this 
 means the inequalities in the horn can be perceived, 
 and removed by the rasp, and when quite level, 
 another brief application of the hot shoe fuses the 
 horn into a hard level surface, capable of resisting 
 the pressure of the metal during wear. 
 
 ' This " hot-fitting " of the shoe, as it is termed, 
 is perfectly harmless to the unmutilated hoof, and 
 possesses such great advantages that it is to be 
 commended. By " cold-fitting " it is impossible to 
 obtain such an intimate coaptation ; and even if it 
 could be secured, the shoe would not remain so 
 firmly attached, as wet softens the ends of the horn- 
 fibres in contact with the shoe, and they yield to 
 the pressure, the shoe loses its original bed, becomes 
 loose, and is cast. This is the experience of those 
 who have tried this kind of fitting most exten- 
 sively.' 
 
 These directions were written by one of the first 
 authorities in veterinary science — namely, Professor 
 G. Fleming, veterinary surgeon to the 2nd Life 
 Guards. They occur in an article written for the 
 'Live Stock Journal Almanack ' of 1879. 
 
 Any opinion of such a writer is worthy of respect, 
 but when I read these words for the first time, I 
 
88 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 could hardly believe ray eyes. Of course, if time 
 were an imperative object, hot-fitting would be a 
 quicker process ; but where a few minutes are of no 
 particular importance, it must be injurious to the 
 hoof, without ensuring any corresponding advantage. 
 
 I did not like the repeated use of the word ' co- 
 aptation,' just as I always suspect the practical know- 
 ledge of a medical man when he speaks of cephal- 
 algia being a premonitory symptom of incipient 
 rubeola, when he might just as well have said that 
 headache was one of the signs of measles. 
 
 Another point struck me — namely, that the ' bed ' 
 obtained by the red-hot shoe would not fit the same 
 shoe when it was cold, owing to the great expan- 
 siveness of iron when heated. Again, though the 
 application of the red-hot shoe would not give pain 
 to the horse at the time, any more than we should 
 suffer pain if the tip of an overgrown finger nail 
 were scorched, yet the horn of the nail would be 
 rendered brittle for some distance beyond the portion 
 that was actually burned away, and the same would 
 be the case with the hoof of the horse. 
 
 Lastly, the reader must have noticed that the 
 writer seems to have had his misgivings about the 
 universal employment of hot-fitting, and carefully 
 limits it to the unmutilated hoof. The italics are 
 his own. 
 
clips. 89 
 
 I believe that Mr. Fleming has since abandoned 
 the practice of hot-fitting, but I have quoted the 
 passage in order to show how curiously habit will 
 overpower reason, even in a well- trained mind. 
 
 His saving clause of the unmutilated hoof is quite 
 sufficient to show that the practice is indefensible. 
 Where do we ever meet with an unmutilated hoof 
 except in the case of young horses who are to be 
 shod for the first time. Even in their cases the hoof 
 is not in its normal condition, for the animal has 
 passed all its life on the comparatively soft and 
 smooth surface of a paddock, and the hoof has not 
 been sufficiently hardened to endure its proper work. 
 
 Having now scooped the sole to the thinness of 
 paper, cut away the frog, removed the pegs, lowered 
 and cut open the heels, and burned away the wall 
 with red-hot iron, so as to make it brittle, and all 
 for the benefit of the horse, the farrier has yet 
 another resource for weakening the hoof with his 
 ever-ready knife. 
 
 In order to save the insertion of more nails than 
 necessary into the horn, which has become honey- 
 combed by nail holes, ' clips ' have been invented. 
 
 These are simply flat pointed projections from 
 the shoe. They can be hammered over the hoof 
 while cold, and serve to hold the shoe to the hoof 
 
90 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 without the use of nails. Clips are no new inven- 
 tion, and indeed were used for fastening the shoe to 
 the hoof long before any one dreamed of hammer- 
 ing nails into the horn. In fact, the original iron 
 shoe was simply a thin flat ring of iron with three 
 clips, one coming over the toe, and the other two 
 over the quarters. 
 
 If, then, the simple clip were used, no direct 
 harm would be done to the hoof. But the farrier 
 
 SHOE WJ1H CLIPS. 
 
 HOOF SCOOPED FOR CLIPS, AND 
 CLIPPED SHOE ON HOOF. 
 
 likes to see a ' clean ' hoof, and thinks that the look 
 of it would be injured because the clips would 
 slightly project, so he scoops a semicircular groove 
 for the reception of the clip. 
 
 These shoes which are furnished with clips 
 always have one in front, so that scooping the 
 groove entirely destroys the original contour of the 
 hoof. Moreover, the hoof is weakened exactly where 
 it wants most strength, and what with lowering the 
 wall until it is perilously near the linea alba, scorch- 
 ing it brittle with red-hot iron, and then scooping 
 
T1IREE CLIPS AND TEN NAIL-HOLES. 91 
 
 a groove in it, the farrier has done his best to 
 produce seedy toe, gravelling, and consequent 
 founder. 
 
 As to cutting a groove to receive the clip on 
 the quarters, it may be urged that if the inside clip 
 were not sunk into the hoof it would cut the oppo- 
 site leg. So it might ; but that is no reason for 
 sinking either the toe clip or the outside clip into 
 the hoof, even granting that either were necessary. 
 But in the eyes of the ordinary farrier external show 
 and the fashion of the day are everything, while 
 knowledge of anatomy, reason, and common sense 
 count for nothing. 
 
 So wedded are the farriers to custom, that instead 
 of using the clips as a succedaneum for nails, they 
 use the clips and the nails besides. There is now 
 before me a horseshoe which I purchased from a 
 well-known forge, and which not only has three 
 large clips, but ten nail-holes besides, so that the 
 grooves for the reception of the clips not only 
 weaken the wall, but diminish the space in which 
 nails can be safely inserted. 
 
 As to the nails themselves, they will be pre- 
 sently mentioned when the shoe comes under con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Two more methods of injuring the hoof are at 
 the farrier's disposal after the knife and the red-hot 
 
92 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 iron have been employed. He has yet at his com- 
 mand the scissors and the rasp. 
 
 The reader will remember that the wall of the 
 hoof is secreted from the coronary ring, or band, 
 which is necessarily a vascular and consequently a 
 sensitive structure, and the blood, by passing through 
 it, is converted, by a chemical process far beyond 
 the reach of man, into horny fibres. It is, in fact, 
 analogous to the root of the human nail. In order 
 that this structure shall be protected from rain, snow, 
 and wind, it is furnished with a sort of a roof or 
 penthouse of hair. For some reason or other, the 
 farrier dislikes this covering, and therefore cuts it 
 away with his scissors. 
 
 Then the rasp has its turn. First, the man 
 goes round the edge of the hoof, so as to file the 
 hoof level with the shoe. It is so easy to do this, 
 that one writer on horseshoeing, being aware that 
 the farrier will rasp the edge out of mere habit, 
 recommends that the shoe should be made a little 
 larger than is needful, so that the shoe may be filed 
 level with the hoof, and not vice versa, as is mostly 
 the case. 
 
 Having filed all round the hoof, the farrier next 
 thinks it necessary to go over the entire surface. 
 
 Nature has covered the hoof with a sort of 
 shining varnish, which permits the passage of air, 
 
BLACKING TIIE HOOF. 93 
 
 but yet defends the structure from wet. This 
 varnish seriously offends the eye of the farrier, who 
 proceeds to remove it with his file. I have before 
 me a number of hoofs, and only one of them does 
 not show file marks over the entire surface. That 
 hoof, however, belonged to an unshod Circassian 
 horse, and man has never tampered with it. 
 
 The farrier is at last satisfied with his work. He 
 has made ' a nice, clean foot,' and the animal is 
 taken away to its stable. Now the groom has his 
 turn at spoiling the hoof, and all with the best inten- 
 tions towards the horse. 
 
 Hoofs are naturally mottled with various shades 
 of brown, grey, and black, while in some places they 
 may be nearly white. This mottling, however, does 
 not please the eye of the groom, who considers that 
 the hoof of the horse and his own boots on "lit to 
 match each other. So, with grease and lampblack, 
 he blackens and polishes the hoof, and then thinks 
 that he has done his duty by his horses. It is a 
 very dirty and disagreeable process, so the very fact 
 that he does undertake it shows that he really thinks 
 that the horse is improved by it. 
 
 True, for a short time, and if the road should 
 happen to be in good condition, the hoofs retain 
 their polished blackness ; but if the road should be 
 
94 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 dry, they will soon be covered with dust, which sticks 
 to the greasy surface, and gives it exactly the neg- 
 lected and untidy appearance which the groom has 
 tried to avoid. 
 
 Then, after the horse has been taken back to the 
 stable, cleaning the hoof is as disagreeable and dirty 
 a process as blacking it, whereas dust cannot adhere 
 to the natural varnish, and the hoof can be easily 
 cleaned by a wet cloth. 
 
 This, however, is not the worst result of grease 
 and lampblack, which would work no great harm 
 if they merely caused additional trouble to the 
 groom, but absolute damage to the hoof is done by 
 the grease. The groom, placing the hoof of the 
 horse on a level with his own boots, has no idea that 
 the former needs more consideration of treatment 
 than the latter. He has no idea that transpiration 
 takes place through the hoof, and that the grease 
 chokes up the pores in the horn, and so prevents the 
 needful transpiration from taking place. 
 
 As might be expected, the stoppage of these 
 pores, and the check to transpiration, causes the hoof 
 to become hot and feverish, just as is the case with 
 ourselves when perspiration is checked. The horn, 
 too, cannot be properly formed, and becomes brittle. 
 
 Then the groom sets to work to 'soften' the hoof, 
 which is the very thing that ought not to be done, 
 
* STOPPING ' THE HOOF. 95 
 
 and proceeds to ' stop ' it — i.e. to fill the cavity with 
 some mixture which has been recommended to him, 
 and on the virtues of which he implicitly relies. 
 Fresh cowdung is the usual material employed for 
 stopping hoofs, the groom having an idea that 
 because it is soft it is cooling, whereas it really is 
 heating in its effects. 
 
 Then, most grooms possess some special hoof- 
 ointment, and there is hardly one who has not a 
 ' bottle of oils ' to which he pins his faith with a 
 blind trust deserving a better cause. How the ' oils ' 
 are supposed to act on the hoof he does not know, 
 nor care to know, and, as a rule, he is personally 
 affronted if any one wishes to teach him anything of 
 which he is ignorant. 
 
 So he goes on stopping the hoofs with his 
 mixtures, and dressing them with his ointments and 
 oils, which, as Mr. G. Eansom says, ' are used more 
 openly than medicines, and are even highly approved 
 by some owners. 
 
 ' First among them rank hoof-ointments, be they 
 either a secret with the stablemen or a patent. It 
 does not make much difference which, as to their 
 non-ability or rather their positive insalubrity. They 
 almost always consist of admixtures of some or all of 
 the following ingredients : Tar, bees-wax, train-oil, 
 tallow, suet, and honey.' 
 
96 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 He then proceeds to endorse a statement made 
 by another authority, who boldly says that if these 
 applications were made daily and not occasionally, 
 the horse would not in six months' time have enough 
 sound horn left in the hoof to hold a nail. 
 
 The injury which is done to horses by the well- 
 meant but reckless treatment of their hoofs by 
 ignorant and therefore conceited men is so great, 
 that no groom or stableman ought to be allowed 
 even to possess a hoof-ointment, or * oils,' or any 
 similar preparation, or to apply anything to the 
 hoof which he has not received from the veterinary 
 surgeon whom his master employs, and in the appli- 
 cation of which he does not strictly follow the 
 surgeon's orders. 
 
 It is necessary that the rule against the posses- 
 sion of drugs or applications of any nature should 
 be enforced most rigidly, and that the slightest 
 infringement of this rule should be visited by instant 
 dismissal and forfeiture of wages, without the hope 
 of forgiveness or of being reinstated at any future 
 time. No other plan is of the slightest avail, and 
 every servant who is employed about the horse in 
 any capacity should be compelled to sign a clause to 
 that effect before he is engaged. 
 
 Not only do the men apply remedies to the 
 hoof, but they procure and administer drugs of 
 
DRUGS IN STABLES. 97 
 
 the most poisonous character. Their rashness and 
 presumption are almost incredible. Here are two 
 extracts which I cut from the police columns of a 
 daily paper : — 
 
 ' Caution to Farm Servants. — On Monday last a 
 
 waggoner in the employ of Mr. H was charged 
 
 before the magistrates with administering poisonous 
 drugs to his master's horses, and was sent to gaol for 
 one month with hard labour. The poisons con- 
 sisted of savine and sheep salve. We hope this 
 notice will act as a warning; to others holding similar 
 situations, and who, we fear, are too often guilty of 
 the like dangerous practice, for the sake of making 
 the horses look bright, at the expense and risk of 
 their valuable lives.' 
 
 'At the Petty Sessions to-day, W J , 
 
 servant to Mr. H , farmer, was charged with 
 
 administering a poisonous compound to his master's 
 horses, and on conviction the magistrates fined him 
 3/. An expert stated that antimony was the prin- 
 cipal ingredient, and that the poison had been given 
 
 to produce a glossy skin. Three of Mr. II 's 
 
 horses had died through this practice.' 
 
 The reader has doubtless noticed that in neither 
 of these cases was the horse intentionally injured. 
 Had it been so, the punishment would have been 
 much more severe. So far from wishing to be cruel 
 
 ii 
 
98 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 to the horses, the men evidently wished to benefit 
 them, and only treated the animals with the same 
 recklessness with which they would have treated 
 themselves or their friends. 
 
 I have had large experience among the poor and 
 uneducated, and have always been struck with 
 the curious fact that as regards medicines they will 
 much rather take the opinion of persons in their own 
 rank of life than that of the President of the College 
 of Physicians, and never seem able to overcome a 
 lurking distrust of any one who is better educated 
 than themselves. 
 
 Arsenic, corrosive sublimate, nitre, aloes, and 
 drugs of a similarly powerful character are among the 
 medicines which the groom likes to have by him, and 
 which he will administer as often, and in such quan- 
 tities, as may happen to please him. So the only plan 
 is not only to forbid to the servants the administra- 
 tion of any drugs or applications, but to make even 
 the possession of them a ground for instant dismissal. 
 
 ' So nearly related,' writes Mr. J. Irvine Lupton, 
 ' are the quantity of aloes which relaxes and the 
 amount which kills, that probably aloes have 
 poisoned more horses than all other drugs in the 
 Pharmacopoeia.' After entering into the anatomical 
 details of the horse's digestive organs, and the effect 
 of this drug upon them, he proceeds as follows : — 
 
THE RECKLESSNESS OF IGNORANCE. 99 
 
 * Aloes and nitre are the chief perils of the stable. 
 
 ' More horses have diseases of the kidneys through 
 the abuse of nitre than would be effected if left 
 entirely to Nature. As to aloes, the poisonous and 
 perilous nature of that drug has already been dwelt 
 upon ; the pitiable infatuation with which grooms 
 regard it constitutes one of the heaviest and needless 
 extravagances of every hunting establishment.' 
 
 Mr. Ransom mentions that in 1879 a number of 
 Lincolnshire farmers met together and formed them- 
 selves into a society for suppressing the administration 
 of poisonous drugs to horses by servants. One of 
 the members stated that he had lost more than thirty 
 horses by this practice. 
 
 It would have been better if the word 'poisonous' 
 had been omitted, and that all drugs had been pro- 
 hibited. 
 
 Ignorant men cannot be expected to discriminate 
 between poisonous and harmless drugs, nor to be at 
 all nice as to the amount which they administer or 
 the ailment for which they administer it. To them 
 a drug is ' physic,' and therefore a panacea, and they 
 will with astonishing complacency administer the 
 same ' physic ' to a horse, or a cow, or a pi<?, or 
 themselves, or their babies, without the least refer- 
 ence to the composition of the ' physic ' or the nature 
 of the ailment. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 A mother, for example, will find that her baby is 
 not looking well, and thinks that it wants ' physic.' 
 So she remembers that last year her husband had 
 some physic from the dispensary, but did not quite 
 finish it. Accordingly, she had put the remainder 
 away, lest it should be wasted, and now gives it to 
 her baby, who may be suffering from teething, or 
 whooping cough, or measles, or chicken-pox. Any 
 experienced dispensary surgeon has seen plenty of 
 such cases. 
 
 The clergyman of the parish would not dare to 
 do such a thing, because he is sufficiently educated 
 to know and acknowledge his own ignorance of 
 medicine. It must be evident, therefore, that half- 
 measures are useless, and that if a horse-owner does 
 not wish to have his horses poisoned by drugs or 
 lamed by ointment and oils, his only plan is to for- 
 bid them absolutely. 
 
101 
 
 CHAPTER YIL 
 
 The shoe — Artificial roads and artificial protection — Variety in roads — 
 Straw shoes of Japan — Raw hide or 'parfleche' shoes of North 
 American Indians — Shoe nails — Their ordinary size and number 
 employed — Diminishing thickness of wall — An old Scotch law — The 
 ' unilateral ' system — A hoof prepared on the ' improved system ' — 
 A mangled hoof restored by Nature — The dangers of shoe Dails — 
 Cut nails and forged nails — A remarkable accident — Effect of a heavy 
 shoe on the horse — ' Harden ' and the dead heat — Effect of a heavy 
 shoe on the muscles — Lancashire clogs and French ' sabots ' — Cete- 
 wayo and followers in England — The ' lurry ' horses and their shoes — 
 Lieut. Douglas's calculations — Loosened hoofs. 
 
 Having now treated of the hoof, we will pass to the 
 shoe. 
 
 The object of the shoe is to benefit the horse by 
 protecting its hoofs against the hard artificial roads 
 of civilised countries. It is always assumed that 
 such protection is necessary, because, although the 
 horse might do very well without these appen- 
 dages in its native pastures, it must need shoes 
 when it is brought under such different conditions, 
 and has to traverse stone-paved roads when it carries 
 a rider or draws a vehicle. 
 
 If such assumption be justified, all we should 
 
102 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 have to do would be to invent a shoe which will pro- 
 tect the whole of the hoof and at the same time will 
 not interfere with its proper functions. But, at the 
 very outset, we are met with difficulties. If all roads 
 were alike, nothing could be simpler, and, as one 
 writer observes, ' The ingenuity of man would de- 
 vise horseshoes to travel over glass, were glass the 
 only pavement in use.' 
 
 But all roads are not alike. There are hilly and 
 level roads, and even these are not alike. Nothing 
 can be more dissimilar than the chalk and flint-paved 
 hills of Derbyshire, or the hard stony hills of North 
 Staffordshire. The level roads of flat country have 
 all their distinctive points of dissimilarity, and so 
 have the roads of cities ; the hard, uneven granite- 
 paved roads of Manchester, for example, having little 
 in common with the asphalte and wood of the 
 London streets. Again, all hoofs are not the same 
 in quality, some being hard and tough, while others 
 are weak and brittle. 
 
 Possibly for these reasons, the variety of horse- 
 shoes that have been produced by ' the ingenuity of 
 man ' is beyond all calculation. One man alone has 
 invented twenty different forms, a tolerably good 
 proof that nineteen of them were faulty, and would 
 damage rather than benefit the horse. 
 
 A very important point in horseshoeing is the 
 
STRAW AND HIDE SHOES. 103 
 
 method by which the shoe is attached to the hoof. 
 It must be clear to every one that in proportion as 
 the hoof is injured by the operation, the shoe must 
 be a bad one. The Japanese have a very simple and 
 ingenious mode of shoeing horses. The animals are 
 not shod at all, according to our ideas — that is, the 
 shoe is not attached permanently to the hoof. 
 
 But, on a journey, a ridei or driver is provided 
 with a number of shoes made, not of iron, but of 
 straw. They are not made only to surround the 
 hoof, so as to throw the weight of the animal on the 
 wall, but are, in fact, thick sandals made of closely 
 plaited straw, and tied on the foot by thongs. 
 
 Their cost is a mere trifle, and when they are 
 worn out they are thrown away and another set 
 substituted for them if needed. They are only used 
 when required, so that the sides of a bad piece 
 of road are always strewn thickly with worn-out 
 sandals, while scarcely any are to be found on the 
 good portions. 
 
 In North America, shoes of a similar nature are 
 employed. They are not, however, made of straw, 
 but of the all-useful raw bison hide called 'parfleche,' 
 and, except in shape, are identical with the moccasins 
 which are used by the hunters, whether they be 
 white or red men. 
 
 As to iron shoes, the only kind which does not 
 
104 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 injure the hoof is the three-clamped ring which has 
 already been mentioned. Nails, however few or slight, 
 however well they may be made, or how skilfully 
 they may be driven, must injure the wall, even if it 
 be perfectly sound and hitherto untouched. 
 
 If the hoof were a mere solid, self-renewing block 
 of horn, without any particular structure, no very 
 great harm would ensue, as the nails would only 
 make holes which would be soon filled up again. 
 But the only part of the hoof into which a nail 
 can be driven is the wall, which is made, as has 
 been said before, of flat fibres laid side by side. 
 
 Now, all shoenails are made on the principle 
 of the wedge, and if a wedge be driven between 
 parallel fibres, it must tear them apart. The rent 
 thus made is of course most conspicuous at the 
 nail-hole, but is necessarily continued above and 
 below it. 
 
 On an average, eight nails are used in a shoe, 
 and on an average each nail is at least one- eighth of 
 an inch in thickness. So, by inserting these nails, 
 the farrier is driving a full inch of iron among the 
 fibres of the wall, tearing them apart at the nail-holes, 
 and crushing them together at each side, thus de- 
 stroying the whole character of the horn. Then, 
 after the shoes have been removed and replaced a 
 few times, the horn becomes so weakened that it will 
 
AN OLD LAW. 105 
 
 not hold nails unless they are driven higher into 
 the wall, where sound horn is still to be obtained. 
 
 Again, this practice would not be very hurtful 
 were the hoof solid, or if the wall were the same 
 thickness throughout ; but, as the reader may see 
 from the section figured on p. 40, the wall dimi- 
 nishes in thickness up to the coronary ring, where 
 it becomes a mere edo;e of horn. 
 
 Not only does it diminish in thickness, but in 
 strength, so that just below the coronary ring it 
 is as comparatively soft as is the horn at the base 
 of our nails. It also increases in sensitiveness, so 
 that there is very great danger of ' pricking ' the 
 vascular portions, and therefore of laming the horse 
 at the least, even if worse results do not ensue. 
 Many cases have been known where the result of 
 a prick has been the death of the animal through 
 lockjaw. 
 
 In former times there used to be a law in Scot- 
 land that if the shoer pricked a horse, he was obliged 
 to nurse the animal until it had recovered, and to 
 provide an efficient substitute as long as the victim 
 of his carelessness was unable to work. If the horse v 
 died from the wound or its results, an equally good 
 one must be given to the owner. I very much wish 
 that such a law could be re-introduced and acted 
 upon throughout the United Kingdom. 
 
106 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 There is now before me a hoof, kindly presented 
 to me by Mr. G. Eansom (' Free Lance '), in which 
 one of the nail-holes is exactly an inch and a quarter 
 above the edge of the hoof, so that the nail must have 
 passed quite close enough to the vascular laminae to 
 cause pressure on them, and therefore to give pain. 
 
 This hoof is peculiarly instructive, because it has 
 been shod on what in veterinary language is called 
 the ' unilateral system,' in English the one-sided, plan, 
 the shoe having been nailed only on one side and 
 on the toe. I have exhibited it throughout England, 
 Scotland, and a great part of America, and have al- 
 ways found that the spectators were greatly struck 
 with the torn and battered horn of the nailed side, 
 and the clear, firm, and beautifully grained horn of 
 the untouched side. 
 
 Originally, the shoes had been nailed all round as 
 usual, but on the sound side all the nail- holes have 
 disappeared, with the exception of one, whose posi- 
 tion is externally indicated by the crack in the fibres 
 above it. The person who prepared the hoof has 
 unfortunately polished and trimmed it, but the 
 damage which he has thereby done to the hoof as 
 a specimen is partially compensated by the promi- 
 nence which is given to the ' grain ' of the fibres, 
 and the ease with which an injury to them can be 
 traced. 
 
THE FARRIERS HANDIWORK. 
 
 10T 
 
 
 I possess another hoof stili retaining the shoe. 
 On looking at the interior of the hoof, it may be seen 
 that one of the nails has passed through the linea 
 alba, or quick of the nail, so that the pain which 
 the horse must have suffered can hardly be ima 
 gined. 
 
 I have here assumed that the farrier is putting a 
 shoe on a hoof that has not been touched by the 
 knife. Even in such a case, the 
 greatest care is required in order j 
 
 to avoid accidents. But, sup- 
 pose that even the most skilful 
 farrier in the world were re- 
 quired to put a shoe on such a 
 hoof as that which is shown in 
 the accompanying illustration, he 
 would find the task almost im- 
 possible. 
 
 Some persons might say that 
 this drawing was heightened by the artist in order 
 to produce more effect. 
 
 Now, there is nothing more abhorrent, even to 
 a novice in any branch of science, than ' heightening ' 
 or ' colouring ' a statement. But, in order to avoid 
 even the suspicion of colouring, the drawing is an 
 exact copy of a photograph which was sent to me 
 by the late Mr. A. F. Astley, who also furnished me 
 
 HOOF OP MR. HEBBKRT 
 
 SMITHS HORSE. 
 
 (Seepage 188.) 
 
108 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 
 with the name of the owner. The hoof in ques- 
 tion is that of the left fore-foot, and that of the 
 right fore foot had been quite as badly treated by 
 the farrier's knife. 
 
 By way of contrast, I give a figure of a hoof as 
 it ought to be. This is taken from another photo- 
 graph sent to me by Mr. Astley. The hoof had 
 originally been as badly maltreated as the former 
 specimen, but when released from 
 the knife, the rasp, the nail, and 
 the shoe, it returned in a few 
 months to its original shape. 
 
 I especially wish the reader 
 to remark that throughout this 
 work I place actual facts before 
 him, and do not air my own 
 theories, fancifully illustrated by 
 an obliging artist. 
 There is a peculiar danger about shoe-nails which 
 is little suspected. ' Cut ' nails, as everyone knows, 
 are far cheaper than forged nails, and for many pur- 
 poses, especially in carpentering, are quite as useful. 
 But, for horseshoeing, they are terribly dangerous. 
 Cut nails are made by rolling sheets of iron to the 
 requisite thickness, and then punching the nails out 
 of the sheets, much as' steel pens are made, and as 
 military gun-caps were made before the breech loading 
 
 HOOF. NEARLY TERPECT, 
 MR. LUCK'S HORSE. 
 
SH0J3-NAILS. 109 
 
 rifle came into use. Now, the effect of this rolling 
 and punching is to produce ' lamination ' — i.e. the 
 iron forms itself into layers. These layers do not 
 show themselves in the nail until it is used. Then, 
 however, the blows of the hammer cause the laminae 
 to separate, and so it happens that the nail has a 
 double or even treble point. In one case a nail 
 acted in a most curious manner. It was rightly 
 placed, and came out on the exterior of the hoof, 
 just where it was expected. But the horse went 
 lame after shoeing, and when the shoe was removed 
 in order to find the cause, a most unexpected acci- 
 dent was discovered. The nail had split so as to 
 look like the capital letter Y. One-half had followed 
 the right direction, but the other had turned inwards 
 and passed through the edge of the coffin bone a 
 little way from the toe, so that it lodged among the 
 sensitive lamina?. 
 
 If this had been all, the horse might have been 
 saved, but in removing the shoe in the usual manner, 
 the inner fork of the Y was broken off and left in the 
 toe. The result was that in a few days the horse 
 died from lockjaw. 
 
 No fault was to be found with anyone, as the nail 
 was correctly driven, and to all external appearance 
 everything was right. That the lamination produced 
 by rolling the iron into sheets and increased by the 
 
110 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 punching of the nail should lead to such a result 
 could not have been expected at the time, though 
 for the future any farrier who wilfully uses cut 
 instead of forged nails ought to be held responsible 
 for any damage to the horse. 
 
 While I was in America I saw some horseshoe 
 nails which were beautifully made. They were 
 hand-forged, and so tough that they could be twisted 
 when cold into a screw, and then twisted back again 
 without breaking or even showing a crack. They 
 were of course more expensive than the rolled and 
 cut nails, but if nails similarly made had been used 
 in the above-mentioned case, the horse would not 
 have been lost. 
 
 These nails were shown to me in a railway car, 
 and I should have liked to have secured a few 
 specimens, but could not do so. But I have an in- 
 distinct idea that they are called Putnam nails — at 
 least, there is a nail which goes by that name, and 
 which seems, from its description and appearance, 
 to be similar to, if not identical with, the nails which 
 I saw. 
 
 Another evil of the shoe is its weight. What 
 effect that weight has upon the sinews and muscles 
 of the leg has already been mentioned, as well as the 
 needless and additional work which is thrown on the 
 animal. 
 
THE TIlirLE 'DEAD-HEAT.' Ill 
 
 We feel it ourselves when we run, and all who 
 have given any time to foot-racing are practically 
 aware of the necessity of having the shoe and 
 running sock made as light as possible. Indeed, 
 some pedestrians dispense with even the light shoe 
 and sock, and run barefoot. A valuable proof of 
 this fact occurred in 18S2. In the ' Sandown Derby,' 
 a most remarkable event occurred, no less than three 
 horses coming in together and running a dead heat. 
 Of course the dead heat had to be run out, and all 
 three horses started for it. During the interval, the 
 owner of one of them, named ' Marden,' took off even 
 the light plates which are substituted for shoes before 
 a race. The result was, that Marden won easily by 
 three lengths, the removal of a few ounces of weight 
 from its hoofs having given the animal an advantage 
 equal to the deduction of as many pounds from the 
 weight of the rider. 
 
 As to the injury caused to the muscles and sinews 
 of the horse by depriving the hoof of its proper play, 
 and forcing the animal to lift a useless weight from 
 the ground, we may find a parallel among ourselves. 
 
 If we look at the legs of a country ' clod-hopper,' 
 or of a Lancashire mill-hand in England, or of an 
 ordinary labourer in France, we shall see that from 
 the knee to the ankle there is scarcely any develop- 
 ment of muscle, the calf of the leg being almost en- 
 
112 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 tirely absent. This fact has been very well hit oft 
 by Tenniel in his illustrations to ' Alice in Wonder- 
 land,' the legs of ' Father Williams' ' son being 
 curiously true to nature. 
 
 This want of development is due to the structure 
 of the boots worn by rustics. They are exceedingly 
 heavy to begin with, and are made heavier by the 
 soil which clings to them. Then the soles are so un- 
 bending that the instep has no play, and therefore the 
 muscles of the calf which work the instep have so 
 little to do that they cease to be developed. 
 
 The wooden soles of the Lancashire clogs, and the 
 wooden shoes or ' sabots ' of the French rustic, pro- 
 duce a similar effect, while exactly an opposite result 
 is found in the professional dancer, the muscles of the 
 calf being enormously developed. The ' light fantastic 
 toe ' is unknown to the field labourer, whose only idea 
 of dancing is a shuffling clatter ; and for the same 
 reason, leaping is to him almost impossible. 
 
 When Cetewayo was in England, he and his fol- 
 lowers found the weight of their shoes so fatiguing, 
 especially when ascending stairs, that after they had 
 been for a visit to any place where stairs had to be 
 ascended, they were so worn out that they were 
 obliged to pass a day or two prostrate on their straw- 
 beds. 
 
 As with us, so with the horse ; and every ounce 
 
SHOES OF 'LURRY' HORSES. 113 
 
 which is hung upon his feet adds greatly to his day's 
 work, and helps to wear him out before his time. 
 Common sense ought to tell us that, even regarding 
 the horse as a mere machine, it must be as foolish to 
 hang needless weights on his feet as to clog an en- 
 gine after a similar fashion. 
 
 Now, as a rule, the weight of a shoe for a carriage- 
 horse is about a pound and a half. Multiply this 
 weight by four, and we can at once see how much 
 needless work has to be done by the mere exertion of 
 lifting such a weight from the ground. 
 
 As extreme cases, I may mention the shoes which 
 are worn by the gigantic horses employed to draw 
 the Manchester ' lurry.' An ordinary set of ' lurry ' 
 horseshoes weighs about sixteen pounds, this enor- 
 mous mass of iron being thought necessary to protect 
 the hoof against the granite pavement. 
 
 There are some sets which weigh seven pounds 
 per shoe — i.e. twenty-eight pounds per set. These, 
 however, I never saw, but accept the statement of 
 Lieutenant Douglas, in his ' Horseshoeing,' p. 4. 
 
 The same writer makes a curious calculation of 
 the difference in a horse's work when he is shod 
 lightly or heavily. The directors of one of our large 
 railway companies substituted shoes weighing ten 
 pounds per set for those which were double the 
 weight. 
 
114 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 ' And what was the result? Why, that the light 
 shoes wore longer than the heavy ones had done, the 
 average of the former being four weeks and five days 
 each shoe, while the latter wore but three weeks on 
 an average. 
 
 ' But it is not the wear of iron so much as the 
 wear of horseflesh that I am anxious to direct atten- 
 tion to now. It will be seen that as the shoes which 
 were taken off weighed five pounds apiece when new, 
 these horses were at once benefited by having ten 
 pounds less iron to carry about with them. 
 
 ' I will not attempt to calculate what difference 
 two and a half pounds of metal placed at the end of 
 a lever two and a half feet long would be equivalent 
 to, but will simply look at it as ten pounds extra 
 weight carried by each animal. A horse when walk- 
 ing lifts his feet all round about thirty times a 
 minute, so that if we allow the day's work to last 
 eight hours, the difference in favour of lighter shod 
 horses is over sixty-four tons.' 
 
 Here Mr. Douglas gives his calculations in full ; 
 but, as space is valuable, I do not transcribe them. 
 
 The heavy unyielding shoe has sometimes a very 
 strange effect. I have seen a 'lurry ' horse, who had 
 not acquired the art of lifting his weighted feet per- 
 pendicularly, try to walk as it would have done had 
 he been unshod — i.e. by putting down the heel first, 
 
A LOOSENED HOOF. 115 
 
 and ending with the toe. The result was that the 
 hoof was becoming loosened from the foot ; and when 
 the horse raised its foot, the bones and their sensitive 
 laminae were drawn out of the hoofs so far that the 
 vascular portions became visible, the foot sinking 
 back into the hoof when the weight of the horse rested 
 upon it. The agony which each step must have cost 
 the horse is beyond the power of description. 
 
116 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The calk, or calkin — Horses on pattens — Two strange accidents — Calks 
 in America — Supposed uses of the calk — Mr. Bowditch's testimony — 
 Weight thrown on the edge of the coffin bone — High-heeled boots 
 and their effects — The battle of the shoes — Recognition of defects in 
 shoeing — The Goodenough shoe and its object — Jointed shoes — The 
 Clark jointed shoe — The screw shoe — Expansion and contraction — 
 The effect of the screw on the hoof — Tips, and how to fasten them — 
 The Charlier, or ' pre-plantar ' shoe — How to apply it — Usually too 
 large and in danger of breaking and twisting — Best length and weight 
 for a Charlier shoe— Man versus Nature — A series of happy thoughts 
 — Their results upon each portion of the hoof. 
 
 There is one portion of the shoe which must be 
 mentioned. It is the calk, or calkin — i.e. a projection 
 at the heel which looks very much like the high- 
 heeled boots which have destroyed the feet and 
 broken the health of many a fashionable beauty. 
 Sometimes, as in the Manchester shoe, which I men- 
 tioned on p. 113, the calkin extends across the back 
 of the shoe, connecting the ends together, and look- 
 ing very much as if the blade of an iron scraper 
 had been fastened across the heels. Generally, how- 
 ever, there are two calks, one on each side of 
 the heel ; and, too often, the blacksmith has not 
 
WALKING IN TATTENS. 117 
 
 troubled himself to make them exactly of the same 
 
 height. 
 
 I never shall forget the first sight of these astound- 
 in <r shoes. To be able to see under the feet of a horse 
 was an unknown experience, and in this instance the 
 effect was heightened by the rays of the setting sun, 
 which produced the most curious combinations of 
 lio-ht and shade as the horses raised or set down their 
 
 feet. 
 
 Lieut. Douglas, in his usual incisive style, is very 
 emphatic in the condemnation of these shoes and 
 of calks altogether. After describing the sufferings 
 of London horses whenever the road is hilly and 
 happens to be slippery from any cause, he proceeds 
 as follows : — 
 
 ' It is even worse in Lancashire and other parts 
 of the North of England, where horses are propped 
 up, as it were, on short stilts, having calks both at 
 toes and heels. 
 
 'Without taking into consideration the extra 
 weight which the horse has to carry, everyone can 
 imagine how insecure the animal must feel when 
 walking in these tripods. We can easily fancy how 
 we ourselves should feel if compelled always to walk 
 about in pattens ; and yet I doubt whether we should 
 feel more miserable than these horses do. 
 
 ' Some may think that I express my feelings too 
 
118 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 strongly on this subject, but it is ever before my 
 eyes. I cannot move out of doors without being 
 obliged to witness horses on all sides of me suffering 
 from bearing-reins or bad shoeing. The very day I 
 penned these lines, when going down Cannon Street, 
 I saw a horse fall so suddenly that the pole of the 
 vehicle in rear passed through the back of the four- 
 wheeler he was drawing. The poor animal never 
 tripped ; his legs flew from under him to the right, 
 and he fell upon his left side, the wheels of the cab 
 being only stopped by his body. The horse was shod 
 with shoes that had high calks. 
 
 ' This is no solitary instance. On the very Friday 
 previous, when walking from Holborn Circus to New- 
 man Street, Oxford Street, about a mile, I saw no less 
 than five cab-horses down, all of them falling on their 
 sides as if they had been shot dead. The streets, 
 after being watered, or a slight shower having fallen, 
 are as slippery as if they were covered with soft soap, 
 and horses with high-heeled calks and wide-webbed 
 
 CD 
 
 shoes are quite helpless upon the granite pavement. 
 These which I saw fall could not get up until rugs 
 had been spread in front of them, so that they could 
 get a foothold and keep it.' 
 
 Any Londoner who uses his eyes must have seen 
 many such accidents. Two which I witnessed im- 
 pressed themselves very strongly on my mind. 
 
TWO ACCIDEXTS. 119 
 
 One was the fall of an enormous cart-horse at the 
 foot of Ludo-ate Hill. The animal had struggled, 
 and slipped, and slidden all the way down the hill, 
 until the level ground was reached at Farringdon 
 Street. 
 
 Just when everything was apparently safe, away 
 flew all the four legs to the right, and down came 
 the animal on its side with a tremendous thud, 
 falling upon the chain trace. Instantly the animal 
 plunged and struggled to its feet, and again fell upon 
 the chain in a similar manner. The movements w T ere 
 so quick and unexpected, that the horse fell four 
 times before anyone could approach, and so heavy 
 were the falls upon the chain, that I doubt whether 
 the animal survived the injuries. 
 
 The other accident occurred to the horse of a 
 hansom cab, nearly opposite the General Post Office. 
 It was in the winter time, and a slight thaw had 
 been followed by a sharp frost, so that the road 
 was exceedingly slippery. On account of the state 
 of the road, the driver was only walking his horse, 
 the high calks with which the shoes were supplied 
 being of little if any use upon the icy surface. 
 
 Suddenly the horse - fell as if shot, and, slow as 
 was the pace at which the animal had been going, 
 the fallen horse slid for some few yards, drawing the 
 cab after it. 
 
120 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 The most extraordinary portion of the incident 
 was the effect upon the driver. The fall of the horse 
 did not appear to disconcert him, and he kept to his 
 seat as long as the cab was in motion. The moment 
 it stopped he rose up slowly, stooped forward, and 
 put the top of his head on the roof of the cab. 
 Then he turned a somersault in the air, and came 
 flat on his back in the road by the side of his horse. 
 The deliberation of the movement was one of the 
 most extraordinary spectacles that I ever witnessed. 
 
 I thought that the man must have been killed 
 on the spot, or at lest stunned and insensible. But 
 he was hardly down before he was up again. What 
 had happened, or where he was, he evidently did 
 not know, but he walked round and round the cab 
 and fallen horse until the inevitable crowd sur- 
 rounded the scene of accident, and shut him from 
 sight. However, after five or six minutes had elapsed 
 I saw him again in his seat, and driving slowly away 
 from the stand. 
 
 The uselessness of the calkin g could not have 
 been better demonstrated. It did not prevent the 
 heavily-burdened cart-horse from falling on a wet 
 road, nor the lightly burdened cab-horse from a like 
 misfortune when the surface was frozen. 
 
 The object of the calking is to prevent the horse 
 from slipping on frozen ground or ice. The same 
 
CALKS EN AMERICA. 121 
 
 lecturer who averred that in America the farriers 
 did not cut away the frog nor scoop the sole, also 
 asserted that in America calks are not used. 
 
 Now I took especial care to see whether the 
 horses wore calks or not, and I unhesitatingly say 
 that the calks are quite as universal in America 
 as in England, and quite as deep — possibly deeper. 
 I asked why they were worn, and was given the 
 usual answer — i.e. that without their use the horse 
 would slip and probably fall on the sloping and 
 frozen roads of Boston ; and that horses who had no 
 such protection did fall, and often had to be killed. 
 Very much the same reasons are given in England. 
 
 Now, in the first place, the existence of the calk, 
 though it may be only a short one, is tantamount to 
 the abolition of the frog, which may just as well be 
 cut away as left suspended above the ground. AVe 
 have already seen that pressure on the frog is neces- 
 sary for the well-being of the horse, so that this fact 
 alone is decisive against the calkin. 
 
 But the assertion that without the calk the horse 
 would slip and fall is a pure assumption. If the 
 ordinary shoe be used, there is some reason for the 
 statement. In winter time, as I know from personal 
 experience, it is difficult even for a man who has 
 nothing to draw or carry to keep his footing in the 
 streets of Boston, and horses shod in the ordinary 
 
122 HORSE AND MAN". 
 
 way would have no chance of doing their work. 
 Calks certainly do assist the animal to a certain 
 degree at the time, but they also inflict injuries from 
 which the horse is seldom free afterwards, as we 
 shall presently see. But even calks are not infallible. 
 I once saw in New York, within a distance of 
 two hundred yards, two horses lying dead in the 
 road, and another so much injured that it had 
 to be killed. In two of these cases the horse had 
 slipped, fallen, and the calk had become jammed in 
 the tram-rails. The result of the fall was that the 
 pastern was snapped, and in one case the hoof was 
 so twisted that the toe pointed to the rear. 
 
 Mr. Bowclitch, an American gentleman whose ac- 
 quaintance I had the pleasure of making, is one of 
 those men who think for themselves, and have the 
 courage to act upon their opinions, without any refer- 
 ence to precedent. Instead of making the shoe with 
 calks on the heels he only fastened on the toe a slight 
 semicircular piece of iron, leaving the rest of the 
 hoof to grow as Nature made it. During the winter, 
 when the roads were covered with glare ice, all the 
 precautions which he took against slipping consisted 
 of one small point on the toe. 
 
 i I am afraid,' he writes, in a letter quoted by 
 4 Free Lance,' ' that I drive very hard down hill. I 
 am in the habit of driving cripples ; my friends have 
 
POWER OF PREJUDICE. 123 
 
 a good deal to say about the corpses that I drive, 
 but I take care of their feet, and they manage to do 
 good work. 
 
 ' I make my best time in driving down hill. I 
 have no fear of hard roads and no fear of pave- 
 ments if a horse's foot is kept in proper condition. 
 Last winter I rode my saddle mare, and of course 
 my neck is more to me than anything else. I 
 galloped out on the ice where the men were cutting 
 it, and I had no fear of her slipping, although the 
 horse that was marking the ice, and had calks on 
 two inches thick, did slip.' 
 
 Finding it impossible to induce the ordinary 
 farriers to make or put on any shoes except those of 
 the old pattern. Mr. Bowditch boldly set up his own 
 forge for the benefit of his own horses. Sometimes, 
 when one of his neighbours has a very lame horse, 
 he brings the animal to Mr. Bowditch, and when it is 
 cured, he goes back to his old farriers, and has it 
 lamed afresh. 
 
 Now we can see why the calks inflict an injury 
 on the horse. 
 
 In the first place, they give a wrong bearing to 
 the hoof, by lifting it up behind, whereas Nature 
 intended it to come flatly on the ground. If the 
 reader will again look at the section of the pastern 
 on p. 40, he will see that the tip of the coffin bone 
 
124 
 
 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 resembles a wedge. Note, when the heel is elevated 
 by the calks, the coffin bone is pressed down into the 
 hoof, just as the human toes are squeezed into the 
 tip of the boot when high heels are employed. 
 
 Human toes suffer considerably when thus treated, 
 but the horse must suffer much more, because the 
 vascular laminae are also sensitive, and are crushed 
 together by the weight of the animal. Moreover, 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 HOOF WITH CALKED 
 SHOE. 
 
 ATTITUDE OF HOOF, THE 
 SHOE BEING REMOVED. 
 
 however greatly human beings may suffer when 
 wearing tight, high-heeled boots, they can at night 
 take off the instruments of torture, whereas the horse 
 enjoys no such respite from pain. 
 
 Another drawback to calks is the loss of power 
 which they entail. When the hoof is tilted by the 
 calks, the weight of the body is thrown forwards, 
 and the muscles and sinews are strained in order to 
 
FASHIONABLE BOOTS. 
 
 125 
 
 preserve the balance. This is evident by reference 
 to fig. 2 in the accompanying illustration, while fig. 1 
 shows how the eye is deluded by the shoe into an 
 idea that the hoof is on its proper level. 
 
 It is so with ourselves. 
 
 In the accompanying illustration, fig. a represents 
 the human foot resting on the ground in the attitude 
 designed by Nature. Fig. b shows a boot that was 
 
 human foot 
 (natural attitude). 
 
 FASHIONABLE BOOT, 
 U84. 
 
 fashionable m 1884, and I fear, on account of its 
 utter and fatuous disregard of every function of the 
 foot, may retain its hold on fashion for some years to 
 come. A mere glance at the two figures will show 
 the loss of power consequent on wearing such a boot. 
 The wearer is nearly as helpless as a small-footed 
 Chinese woman. She — for I regret to say that only 
 lovely woman can be such a slave to fashion — cannot 
 
126 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 even stand upright, still less walk upright, nor can 
 she even stand still. 
 
 The body being thrown forwards, the knee must 
 be bent forwards, the thigh backwards, and the spine 
 forwards again, while the free, natural walk which 
 constitutes one of the chief beauties of woman is 
 degraded into a tottering hobble. A walk of a mile 
 in such boots is almost impossible, and if it were 
 accomplished, would fatigue the wearer more than 
 ten miles in boots or shoes which were made in 
 accordance with the structure of the foot. 
 
 The muscles of the legs have their work com- 
 pletely changed, and so they become wearied, while 
 the tendons are strained and the joints swollen. 
 
 Now for the battle of the shoes. 
 
 Begun no one knows when, the date of its final 
 settlement seems equally obscure. Putting aside the 
 Japanese straw shoe, and the American Indians 
 ' parfleche ' shoe, we come to the shoe of iron, 
 attached to the hoof by nails. The most curious point 
 in this warfare is, that the more carefully the differ- 
 ent inventors study the structure of the hoof, the 
 more ingeniously do they contrive to inflict damage 
 where they are really desirous of doing good. 
 
 I again ask the reader to disabuse his mind of 
 
THE ' G00DEN0UGH ' SHOE. 127 
 
 the idea that I bring any accusation of intentional 
 cruelty against those who are entrusted with the 
 care of the horse's hoof. On the contrary, I am 
 sure that with very few exceptions, and those no 
 more than the inevitable * black sheep ' which infest 
 every business and profession, the farriers, grooms, 
 and stablemen are really actuated with the best 
 intentions towards the horse, and simply follow the 
 traditions in which they have been brought up. 
 
 Having in mind the praiseworthy object of 
 benefiting the horse, each inventor has recognised 
 the defects of existing shoes, and has tried to pro- 
 duce a shoe which shall be free from these defects. 
 The number of such shoes is so great, that I can only 
 mention one or two of the most prominent. 
 
 . Some years ago Mr. Goodenough, an American, 
 recognised the fact that the broad fiat surface of the 
 shoe soon becomes so polished by friction that the 
 horse could with difficulty gain a purchase on smooth 
 ground, even if it were dry and level, while on slop- 
 ing and wet ground the horse was nearly certain to 
 fall. So he invented a shoe which was scooped 
 beneath so as to present several sharp edges to the 
 ground instead of a continuous smooth surface. 
 
 Here, then, was a recognition of a defect, and an 
 attempt to remedy it. The shoe attracted much 
 attention not only in America but in England, and I 
 
128 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 have seen many references to it as the only shoe 
 which gave the horse a grip of the ground. 
 
 Certainly, for a short time this was the case. 
 But the inventor had forgotten the rapidity with 
 which an iron shoe is ground down by friction upon 
 a hard road, and the result was, that the projections 
 soon wore away, and the Goodenough shoe became 
 just as smooth and slippery as any of the shoes which 
 it was intended to supersede. 
 
 It had its period of popularity, but has long 
 ago passed into the Hmbo of shoes which have been 
 tried and found wanting. 
 
 Then came a time when the expansive power of 
 the hoof was brought prominently forward, not to 
 say exaggerated. It was recognised that the exist- 
 ing shoes, being unyielding in their structure, pre- 
 vented the incessant expansion and contraction on 
 which the health of the hoof largely depends, and so 
 a number of shoes were devised which should permit 
 the expansion and contraction. I will briefly describe 
 three of them. 
 
 The first is the Clark jointed shoe, to which a 
 casual reference has already been made. 
 
 This shoe is formed of two parts, each occupying 
 one side of the hoof, and uniting at the toe, where 
 they are joined by a rivet which allows the two 
 halves to move freely. On paper and as a theory, 
 
THE JOINTED SHOE. 129 
 
 the jointed shoe seemed as nearly perfect as anything 
 could be, and it earned considerable praise. But Mr. 
 Clark had overlooked three very important defects. 
 The first was, that the footsteps of the horse had 
 the same effect upon the rivet as so many blows of a 
 hammer, fixing it so tightly that the sides lost their play. 
 
 The second defect was, that the iron of the toe 
 always wears away faster than at any other portion 
 of the shoe. Now, as the rivet was in the toe, the 
 natural result was, that it soon became so much 
 worn, that it fell out altogether, leaving the two 
 loose ends as levers by which the nails were loosened 
 at every step. 
 
 The third defect lay in imperfect knowledge of 
 the structure of the hoof. The reader may re- 
 member that the lateral expansive property rests in 
 the quarters, and that the toe is practically non- 
 expansile. Therefore, as the shoe was nailed equally 
 round the hoof, the quarters could not expand when 
 fastened to the toe, and so there might just as well 
 have been no joint at all. 
 
 In writing of this shoe, Lieut. Douglas, in the 
 gently sarcastic tone which pervades his book, re- 
 marks that if the nails were let into half-inch slots, 
 so as to have a quarter of an inch play in either 
 direction, ' the jointed shoe would have some chance ; 
 as it is, there is none for it whatever.' 
 
 K 
 
130 HORSE AXD MAX. 
 
 Another inventor realised the latter defect, and 
 so the celebrated screw-shoe was devised. 
 
 This was a most complicated and expensive piece 
 of mechanism, consisting of four distinct parts. First 
 came the toe-piece. This was something like the 
 capital letter T, with a curved cross-piece. The stem 
 passed completely under the middle of the hoof, and 
 had at the end a nut whioJi worked the screw after 
 which the shoe was named. 
 
 To the arms of the toe-piece the side-pieces were 
 connected by rivets similar to those of the jointed 
 shoe, their other ends or ' heels ' coming against the 
 screw. So, by turning the nut, the sides could be 
 pushed farther apart, or brought nearer together, so 
 as to suit either a round or a long hoof. 
 
 This would have been a delightful arrangement 
 if, like its predecessor, the screw- shoe could have 
 remained on paper. When reduced to practice, how- 
 ever, its failure was even more disastrous. 
 
 In the first place, there were two rivets instead 
 of one, so that it was doubly weak. In the next, 
 the screws, which were really superfluous appendages, 
 caused the stem of the toe-piece to work up and 
 down at each step, until they fell out and were lost. 
 But the third defect was an absolutely ludicrous one. 
 The reader will remember that the expansion and 
 contraction of the hoof is produced by the pressure 
 
THE SCREW-SHOE. 131 
 
 of the frog upon the ground. Now, the stem of the 
 toe-piece passes under the frog, and consequently 
 prevents it from touching the ground. 
 
 A fair idea of the appearance of the screw-shoe 
 may be obtained by comparing it to the ecclesiastic 
 capital letter i-L«, the central perpendicular line 
 representing the stem of the toe-piece. 
 
 The special object of the screw- shoe was, however, 
 to be a corrective of contraction of the hoof, one of 
 the ailments to which that much-enduring organ is 
 subject. What is the practical working of the screiv 
 is well pointed out by Lieut. Douglas : — 
 
 1 The foot was kept in water to soften the horn (!), 
 and every day the screw was slightly turned by a key, 
 the hoof apparently opening wider at the heels by 
 the interior lengthening of the screw. But it was 
 soon found that no proper expansion took place, it 
 being either the nails that gave or the crust that 
 split. 
 
 ' So ended the theory of the screw-shoes, which 
 could never have been looked into properly, as they 
 would not have stood the test of common-sense in- 
 vestigation an hour. 
 
 ' We have only to imagine that if the nails did 
 not give, nor the crust split while the shoe was forced 
 wider apart, this result must follow — viz. the wall of 
 the foot would be torn away at the heels from the 
 
 k2 
 
132 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 sole and the laminge, a much more serious conse- 
 quence than contraction could ever have produced.' 
 
 The reader will not fail to notice that whereas the 
 hoof was intended by Nature to be nearly as hard as 
 iron, man, in his attempts to improve upon Nature, 
 does all in his power to soften it. 
 
 The third device for permitting the expansion of 
 the hoof is the unilateral system, which has already 
 been briefly mentioned. Provided that the frog be 
 allowed to rest on the ground, and the shoe be not 
 carried round the toe, as it is in some instances, this 
 plan is fairly successful with the unshod side of the 
 hoof. But on the other side, as the expansile quarter 
 is connected with the non-expansile toe by a bar of 
 rigid iron, it is rendered immovable, and the value 
 of the frog is half lost. 
 
 Still, though the unilateral system is certainly 
 better than the employment of a shoe which runs all 
 round the hoof, it cannot but have an injurious 
 effect on the hoof. That one side of the hoof should 
 be in its natural elastic condition, and the other 
 should be shod with unyielding iron, is necessarily 
 as annoying to a horse as it would be to a human 
 being. 
 
 If the reader has followed my train of argument 
 he will see that if a shoe of any kind is to be nailed 
 upon the hoof, it ought to be confined to the front 
 
MR. gerry's letter. 133 
 
 portion, which we call the toe, there being no ex- 
 pansive properties to be neutralised by the shoe. 
 
 One great gain will be evident, namely, the lessen- 
 ing of the weight which the horse has to lift at each 
 step. Also, only half the usual number of nails will 
 be required, so that the horn of the wall is not so 
 much weakened by nail holes. There is also no 
 interference with the frog, which can assume its 
 normal size and form, so as to take the weight of the 
 body before the toe comes into use. I have already 
 mentioned that the importance of the frog is rapidly 
 becoming known in America. Mr. J. W. Gerry, in 
 a letter to the ' Boston Globe,' puts the point very 
 quaintly : — 
 
 ' Customers say " My horse needs shoeing ; his 
 frog comes to the ground, and he begins to go lame." 
 What an absurd idea, when Nature intended him to 
 travel on the frog ! If not, why was not the frog put 
 upon the top of the hoof? Nine- tenths of all driving 
 horses have corns because of the iron thick-heeled 
 shoes to keep the frog from the ground.' 
 
 One thing yet is wanting. 
 
 The tip is fastened upon the hoof, and is therefore 
 liable to be wrenched off if the horse should strike 
 its toe against a hard substance. Even if it be only 
 loosened, it becomes dangerous, as the nails are apt 
 to be partly drawn and twisted out of the right 
 
134 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 direction. As the horse goes on trotting or even 
 walking, the nails become more and more bent, and 
 their points are liable to penetrate the linea alba, an 
 accident which often results in lockjaw. In Mayhew's 
 well-known work on ' Horse Management,' p. 83, 
 there is a very good figure of the mischief which 
 may be wrought by a loosened shoe. 
 
 Even granting that no such accident happen, and 
 that the shoe retains its position, the horn of the toe 
 is kept off the ground, and so cannot be subject to 
 the friction which is necessary for its benefit. It 
 therefore continues to grow unchecked, while that 
 of the quarters is incessantly worn away and renewed 
 as it ouovht to be. 
 
 Now, granting for the sake of argument that the 
 horse must have a shoe, it is evident that the best shoe 
 is that which interferes least with the natural growth 
 and action of the hoof. Such a shoe is the ' Charlier/ 
 so named after its inventor. It is extremely narrow, 
 and very light ; but its essential excellence lies in the 
 fact that it is not nailed upon the hoof, but is counter- 
 sunk into the horn, so as to be flush with the natural 
 edge. 
 
 The Charlier shoe is made of various sizes. Most 
 of them are * full ' or ' three-quarter ' shoes, as seen 
 in the accompanying illustration. These, however, 
 are not to be recommended, as they are apt to work 
 
THE CIIARLIER SHOE. 
 
 135 
 
 loose towards the heels, and interfere with the proper 
 development of the quarters. As the reader will 
 see, the heel and frog are left alone, so that the latter 
 can grow to its normal size, nearly filling the cavity 
 
 of the hoof. 
 
 A ' quarter ' shoe is all that is required. There 
 is a specimen now before me, which was taken from 
 a large hoof where it was doing good work. When 
 first put on, or rather put in, it 
 weighed exactly three ounces, 
 and has lost a quarter of an 
 ounce by wear. It is three-six- 
 teenths of an inch in thickness 
 and seven- sixteenths in width. If 
 it were straightened it would 
 measure rather more than seven 
 inches in length. Now, this is 
 altogether too large a shoe, but 
 I describe it as being an actual specimen which had 
 been in use. 
 
 Seven inches, for example, is much too long, four 
 inches being amply sufficient for practical purposes. 
 It is also too thick, one-eighth of an inch being quite 
 enough ; and it is needlessly wide, the few nails which 
 are required being so small that there is plenty of 
 room for them if the width were diminished by at 
 least one-fourth. 
 
 CHARLIER SHOE. 
 
136 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 A little art is required in attaching this shoe. 
 Round the edge of the hoof a groove is cut, and into 
 the groove the shoe is sunk. The groove should be 
 fully as deep as the thickness of the shoe, and even 
 should it be a little deeper no harm will be done. 
 There is no difficulty in cutting the groove, as in all 
 places where the Charlier shoe is sold a special knife 
 is supplied. v This knife is a variation of the ordinary 
 draw-knife, and is furnished with a moveable guide 
 by which the dimensions of the groove are regulated. 
 The guide can be set to any point, and fastened by a 
 screw, so that even the most careless operator can 
 hardly make a mistake. 
 
 As the shoe is flush with the horn, there is no 
 leverage, and in consequence it only requires a few 
 nails, and those of small size. The chief virtue of 
 the Charlier shoe, however, consists in the fact that, 
 as the horse steps, the horn and iron are worn away 
 simultaneously, so that the shoe can be worn down 
 until it is hardly thicker than a visiting card. 
 
 It is not very easy to induce farriers to fix the 
 Charlier shoe to the hoof. All artisans have a 
 tendency to move in ruts, and are almost helpless 
 when taken out of them, and the farrier is perhaps 
 more wedded to his accustomed rut than any other 
 workman. 
 
 Should the full, or three-quarter, Charlier be 
 
SHOKTENING THE SHOE. 137 
 
 employed, it is always easy to cut away a piece from 
 the heels at each time of renewal, so that in three 
 months or so nothing will be used except the four- 
 inch tip. No matter how much a hoof may have 
 been mangled by ignorant men, it will at the end 
 of that time have regained nearly all its original 
 form. 
 
 I am aware that in one of our cavalry regiments 
 the Charlier shoe was tried and failed, on account of 
 the shoes breaking. But the shoes were far too 
 large, coming back as far as the heels, and of course 
 being liable to twisting and breaking. Had they 
 been four-inch tips, a very different result would 
 have been obtained. Moreover, it is clear that the 
 farriers were not desirous to have a shoe which they 
 did not understand. 
 
 We are now brought face to face with another 
 development of the subject. It has been shown that 
 the horse's hoof, when untouched by man, is one of 
 the most perfect and elaborate pieces of animal 
 mechanism in the world. Common sense ought to 
 tell us that when man meddles with Nature he always 
 muddles, and that with the best intentions in the 
 world he deliberately sets himself to undo Nature's 
 work. 
 
 In nothing does man seem to revel in his opposi- 
 
138 - HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 tion to Nature so much as in his dealing with the 
 horse's hoof. He cannot let it alone, but cuts, and 
 carves, and scoops, and rasps, and greases, and 
 blacks, and rends its fibres as if he were not guided 
 by reason, but by a series of 'happy thoughts' which 
 happened to occur to him, and were immediately 
 acted upon without the least reflection. 
 
 For example, the Creator has taken the greatest 
 care to make the whole Hoof as light as possible. 
 ' Happy thought! ' says man. 'Let us hang a pound 
 or so on each hoof and make the horse waste his 
 strength in lifting it.' 
 
 He has made the Wall exceedingly strong. 'Happy 
 thought ! Let us weaken it by cutting it away, by 
 scooping grooves in it, and driving nails into it so as 
 to tear the fibres asunder.' 
 
 He has made this wall nearly as hard as iron. 
 ' Happy thought ! Let us soften it by " stopping " 
 and similar devices.' 
 
 The Creator has made the edge of the wall quite 
 sharp, so as to enable it to hitch upon the slightest 
 unevenness, and to aid it in ascending a hill. 
 Another happy thought ! ' Let us cut away the 
 sharp edge, and substitute a flat, smooth surface of 
 iron which can take no hold of slippery ground.' 
 
 There is now before me a shoe taken from the 
 foot of a dray-horse. The flat iron surface is exactly 
 
HAPPY THOUGHTS. 139 
 
 two inches in width, so that if man had deliberately 
 set himself to work to invent a plan of making the 
 horse's footing as insecure as possible, he could not 
 have been more successful. 
 
 He has furnished the hoof with an elastic pad called 
 the ' Frog,' so as to prevent any jar when the horse 
 steps. 'Happy thought ! Let us cut away the pad and 
 make the horse's weight come upon a ring of iron.' 
 
 This happy thought has another effect. The 
 Creator has constructed the hoof so that the ela- 
 borate and delicate mechanism of its interior can 
 only be kept in working order by the pressure of the 
 pad, or ' frog.' So by cutting away the frog in one 
 of his happy thoughts, man has contrived to stop 
 all this machinery (with the inevitable result to 
 machinery which is not allowed to work), and has 
 also managed to create exactly the jar which the 
 frog would have prevented. 
 
 A third object has been attained by cutting away 
 the frog. As has already been shown, the frog 
 prevents the horse from falling on smooth and slip- 
 pery surfaces, and even enables it to gallop over ice. 
 So, by removing the frog, the chances of a horse's 
 falling are greatly multiplied. 
 
 Again, the Sole of the hoof has been formed arch- 
 wise, of successive layers of exceedingly hard horn, 
 so as to perform a double office. In the first place 
 
140 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 it bids defiance to hard and sharp-edged objects, such 
 as rocks or broken flints ; and in the next place, it 
 transmits the pressure from the frog to the wall, so 
 as to produce the expansion at each step on which 
 the health of the hoof depends. 
 
 So the sole inspires man with another happy 
 thought. ' Let us pare it so thin that it not only 
 cannot resist the pressure of the horse's weight upon 
 a stone, but that it yields to the pressure of the 
 human thumb. As for its duty of transmitting 
 pressure from the frog to the wall, that is of no 
 consequence, as the frog has already been cut away, 
 so that there is no pressure to be transmitted.' 
 
 Our happy thoughts are not yet exhausted. The 
 hoof has been made Porous, so as to permit tran- 
 spiration to take place. ; Happy thought ! Let us 
 choke up all the pores with oil to stop the transpi- 
 ration.' 
 
 It has been covered with a natural Varnish so 
 constructed that while it does not hinder transpira- 
 tion, it defends the hoof from wet. ' Happy thought ! 
 Let us rasp or scrape off the varnish. It is natural, 
 and therefore must be wrono;.' 
 
 The coronary ring, from which the fibres of the 
 wall are secreted, is guarded by a Penthouse of Hair 
 which causes wet to shoot off it as it does from the 
 eaves of a house. ' Happy thought ! Let us snip away 
 
FOUR SETS OF LEGS. 141 
 
 the hair, and let the water make its way into the 
 coronary ring.' 
 
 So, after working his sweet will upon the hoof, 
 man wonders at its weakness, and lays down the 
 stupid axiom that ; one horse can wear out four sets 
 of legs,' which is equivalent to saying that the Creator 
 did not know how to make a horse. 
 
142 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The shoe useful in proportion to its lightness — Therefore, the best shoe 
 seems to be none at all — Capability of the human foot — Value of an 
 army dependent on its marching power — Lord Wolseley 's axiom — Edin- 
 burgh lasses — Moccasin versus boot — MansBeld Parkyns in Abyssinia 
 — Ladies and children at the sea-side — Charles Waterton in Guiana, — 
 Col. Lodge's account of the North American Indian's pony — A race 
 between the Indian's pony and th.e high-bred horse — Exrnoor and 
 Dartmoor ponies — Description of these ' moors ' — How to make a 
 horse's hoof tender — The hoof an organ of all-work — Saddle and 
 draught — Col. Burnaby's opinion. 
 
 Now we are brought face to face with a problem 
 which cannot well be avoided. We have seen that 
 the value of the shoe is in inverse ratio to its weight, 
 its dimensions, and its interference with the natural 
 functions of the hoof. 
 
 The thick, heavy shoe, with calkins, clips, and toe- 
 piece, is the worst, while the light Charlier tip, which 
 is countersunk into the horn of the toe, is the best. 
 The logical conclusion is, that as the horse is benefited 
 in proportion as the shoe is diminished, it might, 
 unless under very exceptional circumstances, be more 
 benefited by having no shoe at all. 
 
 No one who has the least acquaintance with the 
 
THE HUMAN FOOT. 143 
 
 horse's hoof can deny that every one of the numerous 
 ills which beset a horse's hoof is caused by the iron 
 shoe and its adjuncts— namely, the knife, the rasp, the 
 nail, the ' oils,' and the stopping. Let us impartially 
 compare the advantages and disadvantages, and see 
 on which side the balance inclines. 
 
 We may take ourselves as examples. 
 
 We, who have been accustomed through all our 
 lives to have our feet defended by boots and shoes, 
 would be lamed and bleeding in a few minutes if our 
 artificial protections were removed, and we were 
 obliged to run or even to walk for half a mile on hard 
 ground. Yet the human foot was not intended by the 
 Creator as an instrument for maintaining bootmakers, 
 and is perfectly capable of bearing its owner over 
 ground which would cut the best made boots to 
 pieces. 
 
 Military life, in which the soldier has to walk 
 for considerable distances daily over all kinds of 
 ground, affords a good test of the powers of the human 
 foot. Next to the commissariat, which feeds the men, 
 scarcely any department causes such anxiety as that 
 which deals with the feet on which the army is con- 
 veyed from place to place. ' The army that can 
 march best is the best army,' writes Lord Wolseley ; 
 ' and the regiment that can march best in an army, 
 is the best in that army.' — (' Soldier's Pocket Book,' 
 
144 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 p. 257.) The care of the soldier's foot is repeatedly 
 urged in that valuable work. 
 
 Yet, with all the care that can be taken, men who 
 are obliged to wear boots and shoes are no match in 
 marching for those who have always been accustomed 
 to go barefooted. Most of the disasters that have 
 befallen our troops when dealing with uncivilised 
 races, such as the Maori, the Zulu, and the Arab, 
 have been due to ignorance of the tremendous march- 
 ing powers of the barefooted savage. 
 
 I never fairly appreciated the capabilities of the 
 human foot until February 1881, when I was staying 
 in Edinburgh. It was a very severe winter, having 
 been made memorable by the terrible snowstorm of 
 January 18. 
 
 The Cowgate (locally pronounced Coog't) is now 
 mostly inhabited by the poorer classes, the children of 
 both sexes and the younger women habitually going 
 without shoes. I was obliged repeatedly to cross 
 this street, which was then in extremely bad condi- 
 tion. Mud had been deep, and the cartwheels and 
 horses' hoofs had cut it up into a very rough state. 
 Then a severe frost had come on, and the result was 
 that the frozen ridges were so hard and sharp that 
 they hurt my feet through the thick soles of my 
 boots. 
 
 Yet these children and young women ran and 
 
ABYSSINIAN HUNTERS. 145 
 
 skipped over the road as freely as if it had been soft 
 turf, and suffered no inconvenience from the sharp 
 surfaces. Still more curious was the way in which 
 they stood and talked unconcernedly, though their 
 naked feet rested on ice and snow, and their legs were 
 bare half way to the knee. I asked several of them 
 whether they did not suffer from the cold, but they 
 all agreed in saying that they did not feel the cold 
 inconvenient, except when they wore boots. 
 
 It does not need that boots or shoes should never 
 have been worn, in order to produce this insensibility 
 of foot. Hunters in North America always abandon 
 the boot for the moccasin, which is only a single 
 thickness of hide lashed over the foot. At first, the 
 civilised hunter finds walking very painful, but in a 
 short time his feet become accustomed to their work, 
 and the man almost looks forward with horror to the 
 time when he must return to civilisation and boots. 
 
 When Air. Mansfield Parkyns was on his hunting 
 tour in Abyssinia he very wisely conformed to the 
 dress of the natives, and always went barefooted. 
 He was soon able, as they were, to follow the chase 
 on foot, over sand, or rocks, or through bush. After 
 the day's hunting was over, he, like the natives, 
 had his feet overhauled, in order to find whether any 
 thorns or splinters might be sticking in them. 
 
 On one occasion he narrates how he incautiously 
 
 L 
 
L46 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 trod on an upright and broken stump, and ran a 
 splinter so deeply into the sole of his foot that 
 the point could just be seen as a dark spot under 
 the skin of the instep. He could not afford to stop, 
 so he continued the chase, killed his quarry, and 
 carried it home, a distance of some two miles. He 
 then cut down upon the broken splinter, so as to ex- 
 pose the end, and pulled it out with his bullet-mould. 
 In three or four days his feet were all right again. 
 
 The late Charles Waterton, in his ' Wanderings 
 in South America,' invariably went barefooted, just as 
 the natives did. 
 
 The rapidity with which Nature will enable the 
 tender feet of civilised man to be as tough as those 
 of the savage is really wonderful. A year or two ago 
 there was a fashion for families to go to the seaside, 
 and walk about all day without shoes. At first the 
 experience was rather painful, even upon tolerably 
 smooth ground But, before the time of the visit 
 had nearly expired, ladies and children could be 
 seen tramping on the shingle, or clambering over 
 sharp-edged rocks, with perfect ease, though at first 
 each step cost a separate pang. 
 
 Quite as remarkable is the completeness with 
 which the toughness of the foot disappears when 
 it is not required. Mr. Waterton afforded a curious 
 instance of this adaptability. He proposed to a 
 
THE SOLE OP THE FOOT. 147 
 
 friend to walk to Eome from Baccano, and, in order 
 to be more comfortable, lie determined to walk bare- 
 footed. 
 
 ' Having,' lie writes, ' been accustomed to go 
 without shoes month after month in the rugged 
 forests of Guiana, I took it for granted that I could 
 do the same on the pavement of his Holiness Pope 
 Gregory the Sixteenth, never once reflecting that 
 some fifteen years had elapsed from the time that 
 I could go barefooted with comfort and impunity. 
 During the interval, however, the sequel will show 
 that the soles of my feet had undergone considerable 
 alteration.' 
 
 The result to which he alludes was that his feet 
 were terribly cut and bleeding before he had tra- 
 versed four miles, and that he was confined to the 
 sofa for two months. Of course the pavement was 
 comparatively smooth, and not nearly so likely to 
 injure the foot as the roadless ways which he tra- 
 versed in Guiana, but the sole of the foot, for want 
 of use, had lost its former toughness. 
 
 I use this last word intentionally. The popular 
 idea, which until within a few years I myself shared, 
 is that when the boot, or shoe, or sandal is not worn, 
 the sole of the foot becomes hard. Now, so far from 
 being hard, it is quite soft. It is true that the skin 
 becomes extremely thick, but at the same time it 
 
148 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 loses none of its flexibility, and, like the frog of the 
 horse, or the pad of a dog or cat's paw, has very 
 much the consistency of indiarubber, so that sharp 
 stones, thorns, &c, have but very little effect on it. 
 
 We will now return to the horse, and see what 
 can be done by a horse which has never known 
 a shoe. Here is an account by Lieut.-Col. E. J. 
 Dodge, U.S.A., of the horse as used by the red men. 
 These horses are the descendants of the animals which 
 were brought over by the Spaniards and afterwards 
 abandoned. Being left to themselves, they multiplied 
 exceedingly, and reverted to the wild state, forming 
 themselves into herds, whence they are captured 
 when wanted by means of the lasso : — 
 
 ' My subject would not be complete without some 
 mention of the Pony, the plain Indian's inseparable 
 companion and most serviceable slave. 
 
 ' Scarcely fourteen hands in height, he is rather 
 light than heavy in build, with good legs, straight 
 shoulders, short, strong back, and full barrel. He 
 has no appearance of " blood " except sharp, nervous 
 ears and bright intelligent eyes ; but the amount 
 of work he can do, the distance he can pass in a 
 specified time, provided that it be long enough, put 
 him in Indian hands fairly on a level with the 
 Arabian. 
 
the Indian's hoese. 149 
 
 * Though of indispensable value to the Indian, 
 he receives not a particle of attention. He is never 
 stabled, nor washed, nor rubbed, nor curried, nor 
 blanketed, nor shod, nor fed, nor doctored. 
 
 * When travelling over rough and rocky ground, 
 his rider may take the trouble to tie up a tender 
 foot in a piece of buffalo robe. 
 
 c After endurance, the best quality of the pony 
 is sureness of foot. He will climb a steep rocky hill 
 with the activity and assurance of the mule. He 
 will plunge clown an almost precipitous declivity 
 with the indifference of the buffalo. 
 
 ' For going over swamps and marshy places he 
 is only excelled by the elk, and he will go at speed 
 through sandhills, or ground perforated with gopher 
 holes, where an American horse would labour to 
 get along at a walk, and fall in the first fifty yards 
 of a gallop. 
 
 1 The amount of work got out of him by the 
 Indian is astonishing. No mercy is shown. Tell an 
 Indian to find out something miles away, and he will 
 probably go and return at full speed, though the 
 distance made be twenty miles. And this work is 
 done under apparently most unfavourable circum- 
 stances : a terrible bit, an ill-fitting saddle, and a 
 rider as cruel and remorseless as Fate itself.' — (' Hunt- 
 ing Grounds of the Great West.') 
 
150 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to imagine a stronger testi- 
 mony to the endurance and sure-footedness of the un- 
 shod horse. That speed should be a characteristic 
 of such an animal could not reasonably be expected. 
 At all events, no one would suppose that the pony 
 so nurtured could equal in that respect the pedigree 
 horses of civilised man, who not only selects the 
 parents from families renowned for speed and power, 
 but carefully trains the offspring for racing. 
 
 Yet, that an animal so neglected according to our 
 ideas as the Indian pony can not only equal but 
 surpass the trained horse of the white man, is shown 
 by a most amusing account of a race between a pony 
 and blood horses, written by Lieut.-Col. E. J. Dodge 
 in another part of his valuable work : — 
 
 ' It is exceedingly difficult to hit on a fair distance 
 between the Indian and American horse. The start 
 being always from a halt, the small, quick pony is almost 
 sure to win at from one to three hundred yards, while 
 the long stride of the American horse is equally sure 
 of carrying him in winner at from six hundred yards 
 to two miles. A mile or two is then doubtful, after 
 which it is safe to back the endurance of the pony. 
 
 ' A band of Comanches under Mu-la que- top once 
 camped near Fort Chadbourne, in Texas, and were fre- 
 quent visitors and great nuisances as beggars at that 
 post. Some of the officers were decidedly " horsey," 
 
A NATIVE JOCKEY. 151 
 
 several owning blood horses, the relative speed of each 
 being known by separate trials almost to a foot. Mu- 
 la-que-top was bantered for a race, and after several 
 days of manoeuvring, a race was made against the third 
 best horse of the garrison, distance four hundred 
 yards. 
 
 ' The Indians betted robes and " plunder " of 
 various kinds, to the value of sixty or seventy dollars, 
 against money, flour, sugar, &c, to a like amount. 
 The Indians " showed " a miserable sheep of a pony, 
 with legs like churns, a three-inch coat of rough hair 
 stuck out all over the body, and a general expression 
 of neglect, helplessness, and patient suffering which 
 struck pity into the hearts of all beholders. 
 
 ' The rider was a stalwart Indian of one hundred 
 and seventy pounds, looking big and strong enough 
 to carry the poor beast on his shoulders. He was 
 armed with a huge club, with which, after the word 
 was given, he belaboured the miserable animal from 
 start to finish. To the astonishment of all the whites, 
 the Indian won by a neck. 
 
 'Another race was proposed by the officers, and 
 after much " dickering " accepted by the Indians 
 against the next best horse of the garrison. The bets 
 were doubled, and in less than an hour the second 
 race was won by the same pony, with the same appa- 
 rent exertion and with exactly the same result. 
 
152 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ' The officers, thorough ly disgusted, proposed a 
 third race, and brought to the ground a magnificent 
 Kentucky mare of the true Lexington blood, and 
 known to beat the best of the others at least forty 
 yards in four hundred. The Indians accepted the 
 race, and not only doubled the bets as before, but 
 piled up everything that they could raise, seemingly 
 almost crazed with the excitement of their previous 
 success. 
 
 ' The riders mounted, the word was given. Throw- 
 ing away his club, the Indian rider gave a whoop, at 
 which the sheep-like pony pricked up his ears and 
 went away like the wind, almost two feet to the 
 mare's one. The last fifty yards of the course were 
 run by the pony with the rider sitting face to the tail, 
 making; hideous grimaces, and beckoning to the rider 
 of the mare to come on.' 
 
 The reader will probably have noticed the enor- 
 mous weight of the man who acted as jockey, as well 
 as the fact that when the rider really wanted the 
 horse to do its best he abandoned the stick and only 
 urged the animal with his voice. 
 
 The hardness and sure-footedness of the unshod 
 horse is not confined to the American animal, and 
 neither are due to the effects of climate, as is urged 
 by many objectors. Here, for example, is an account 
 of the wild Exmoor ponies, which, in many respects, 
 
EXMOOR PONIES. 153 
 
 resemble those of the American prairies. It is taken 
 from Sidney's ' Book of the Horse,' a work which 
 by no means advocates the theory that horses, as a 
 rule, need no shoes : — 
 
 ' Horses bred on the moors, if left to themselves, 
 rapidly pick their way through pools and bogs, and 
 canter smoothly over dry flats of natural meadow, 
 creep safely down precipitous descents, and climb 
 with scarcely a puff of distress these steep ascents ; 
 splash without a moment's hesitation through fords 
 in the forest streams swelled by rain, and trot along 
 without a stumble along sheep-paths bestrewed with 
 loose stones. 
 
 ' A sight scarcely less interesting than the deer 
 was afforded by a white pony mare with her young 
 stock, consisting of a foal still sucking, a yearling, 
 and a two-year old. The two-year-old had strayed 
 away feeding, until alarmed by the cracking of our 
 whips and the neighing of its dam, when it came 
 galloping down a steep coombe, neighing loudly, at 
 headlong speed. It is thus that these ponies learn 
 their action and sure-footedness. One of these little 
 animals, barely four feet (12 hands) in height, leaped 
 standing over a barrier five feet high, barely touching 
 it with his hind feet.' 
 
 In order to realise the force of this description, 
 the reader must first understand what kind of places 
 
154 HORSE AVD MAN. 
 
 are Exmoor and Dartmoor. Most people take for 
 granted that moors and prairies are level surfaces 
 of great extent, covered with grass, and as easy to 
 the feet as if they were paddocks. Mr. G. Eansom, 
 in his ' Horses and Eoads,' quotes the account of a 
 Devonian : — 
 
 ' Dartmoor is not a great wild flat, as many sup- 
 pose, but, on the contrary, it is for the most part a 
 continual succession of very steep, rough hills, or 
 ' tors,' and rugged ' coombes,' strewn with granite 
 rock and stones. Yet, in spite of all, besides the 
 bogs and chronic state of rain, the herds of ponies 
 gallop fearlessly along the rough sides of the coombes, 
 down and up. It is a pretty sight to see them, 
 especially in the spring, with the foals by their sides.' 
 
 Another writer, Lieut. W. Douglas, who has 
 been frequently quoted in these pages, is equally 
 strong on the subject : — 
 
 ' From the moment a horse is foaled, we either 
 keep him in fields soft to tread upon, or in warm 
 stables, standing on soft straw, and then we are sur- 
 prised that his hoofs should become dry and brittle, 
 instead of keeping moist, tough, and hard. 
 
 1 In the Orkneys, in the mountains of Wales, the 
 wilds of Exmoor and Dartmoor, in many parts of the 
 continent of Europe, and for a considerable portion 
 of the rest of the globe, horses run about over rocks, 
 
THE SOIL AND THE SHOE. 155 
 
 through ravines, and up precipitous ridges, unshod, 
 and this to the evident advantage of their hoofs, for 
 these animals never suffer from contracted feet, or 
 from corns, sandcracks, &c, until they have become 
 civilised and been shod. 1 (Compare Lady Florence 
 Dixie's account, p. 25.) 
 
 It may probably be objected that the ponies of 
 Exmoor and the wild horses or ' mustangs ' of America 
 have neither burdens to bear nor loads to draw. 
 We will meet both objections. 
 
 We have just seen that the mustangs are ridden 
 by very heavy riders for long distances, and over the 
 hardest and roughest ground. We have also seen 
 that when the Indian rider trains his horses, he never 
 dreams of putting iron shoes on its hoofs, and that 
 the horse does this exceptionally hard work without 
 requiring shoes. 
 
 Now I find that there is almost an invariable 
 point among objectors. They admit that horses 
 might get on without shoes under different circum- 
 stances from those in which they happen to be placed. 
 For example, those who live in low-lying and moist 
 districts, such as are found in the Fen countries, say 
 that horses might possibly do without shoes on hard 
 and hilly countries, whereas their hoofs would be 
 ruined by being always in contact with the roads 
 that pass through the damp soil of marsh land. 
 
156 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 Then, those who inhabit the hard hilly countries 
 are equally sure to say that horses may travel unshod 
 on a level and moist surface, but that their hoofs 
 would be cut to pieces on their own stony hills. 
 
 When they are ' driven to their last ditch ' by 
 being confronted with a horse which is perpetually 
 ridden and driven over the worst roads in England, 
 and which has worn no shoes for many years, they 
 say that the animal is an exceptional one. The 
 same series of opposition has to be encountered by 
 anyone who dares to think that the Creator can 
 make a hoof which can do any kind of work, in any 
 climate, so long as it is let alone. 
 
 Generally, I find that although many people, are 
 ready to admit that unshod horses might answer for 
 riding purposes, they cannot believe that the unpro- 
 tected hoof will permit the animal to draw a load 
 behind it. I was not prepared to hear a precisely 
 opposite opinion, and that from a man whose judgment 
 is worthy of all respect. I mean the late Lieut.-Col. 
 Fred. Burnaby, author of the ' Fade to Khiva.' 
 
 In the course of a conversation on the subject, 
 he stated that he considered the horse as capable of 
 drawing loads without shoes, but not of bearing a 
 rider of ordinary weight, say eleven stone. The 
 additional weight would, in his opinion, wear away 
 the hoof so fast that Nature could not renew it 
 
COL. F. BURNABY'S OPINION. 157 
 
 sufficiently. As to cavalry, where the horse has to 
 carry an abnormal weight, i.e. never less than eighteen 
 stone, he was sure that the hoof could not endure 
 the work. He expressed the same opinion to Mr. 
 A. F. Astley, in a letter which I possess. 
 
 One person who was questioned on the subject 
 gave a precisely opposite opinion. I cannot quite 
 follow the argument, but insert it in hopes that some- 
 one else may be more fortunate. 'As driving does not 
 tire a man, and riding does tire a man, therefore an 
 unshod horse if driven would have a harder time of 
 it than if ridden ! ' 
 
 I hope to show not only that a horse may do 
 either saddle or traction work without shoes, but 
 that he actually does both kinds of work on any 
 description of road, and better than when he was 
 shod. The reader will observe that I put forward 
 no theories, but state facts, and produce proofs. 
 
158 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Unshod horses now at work — Dr. Llewellyn's horse on London roads — 
 Thirteen thousand miles without shoes — Always went lame when 
 shod — His transfer to Mr. A. F. Astley — Mr. Astley's horse ' Tommy ' 
 — State of his hoofs when bought — Process of training — Work done 
 by him unshod on hard roads — Photographs of his hoofs — Mr. Whit- 
 more Baker's mare 'Stella' — Facts versus theory — Photographs of 
 ' Stella ' and her hoofs — Letters from Mr. Baker — Work done by 
 ' Stella ' barefooted — Galloping over ice or loose stones — Mr. Baker's 
 offer to enable other horses to work unshod — His preparation for 
 hoofs and its possible value — Influence of external conditions on the 
 hoof — The condemned tramcar horse — Result of removing the shoes 
 — Five hundred and forty miles unshod — Photograph of the hoof in 
 transitional state — Mistaken benevolence. 
 
 Are there any living horses which can work without 
 shoes ? If so, how was this condition of hoof at- 
 tained ? How long is it likely to last, and on what 
 roads did the horse work ? 
 
 As to the first question, I can produce the ex- 
 perience of many owners of shoeless horses, but 
 prefer to take one or two as examples, because I am 
 empowered to give their names. 
 
 One is a very remarkable horse which was driven 
 unshod for several years by Dr. Llewellyn, of London, 
 and which afterwards passed into the possession of 
 
DR. LLEWELLYN S HORSE. 
 
 159 
 
 my lamented friend, the late A. F. Astley, of 46 
 Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch, W. Here 
 is a copy of the certificate signed by the former 
 owner : — 
 
 ' I certify that for five and a half years the horse 
 (whose hoof is here photographed) has done my 
 work (a doctor's) barefoot — that is to say, without 
 iron of any kind on his feet. 
 
 * This work he has done single- 
 handed, for I keep but one horse. 
 Most of his work has been done 
 over macadamised roads in the 
 East of London. 
 
 ' He has often worked seven 
 days a week, and has frequently 
 had a heavy brougham behind him. 
 In the five and a half years he 
 must have traversed some 13,000 miles. Daily work, 
 three or four hours. Though barefoot, he has worked 
 sound, and his hoofs show no signs of undue wear. 
 (Signed) 'K. Ealph Llewellyn. 
 
 ' July 20. 1883.' 
 
 HOOP OF MR. ASTLEY 8 
 HORSE, PURCHASED 
 PROM DR. LLEWEL- 
 LYN. 
 
 I here present to my readers an engraving of a 
 photographic portrait of the near fore-hoof of this 
 horse. Let the reader, when examining it, bear in 
 mind that the horse had traversed at least thirteen 
 
160 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 thousand miles without any protection to the hoof. 
 Another remarkable point in the history of the 
 animal is, that he always went lame when shod, but 
 has never done so since his shoes were removed. 
 
 In order to give the reader a more complete idea 
 of the appearance of the hoof when untrammelled by 
 the shoe, I here present him with a fac-simile of a photo- 
 graph taken from the two fore-feet of the same animal. 
 
 FORE-FEET OF DR. LLEWELLYNS HORSE. 
 
 I need only request my unprejudiced reader to 
 look at this photograph, and ask himself whether 
 any shod hoofs can compare with these. I do not 
 offer a fancy drawing of hoofs, as I think they ought 
 to be under certain circumstances, but give the 
 photographic portrait of hoofs as they are under 
 those same conditions. 
 
' TOMMY.' 161 
 
 I may here mention that when the photograph 
 was taken the horse was fourteen years old, and 
 that its height was fifteen hands one and a half 
 inches. 
 
 Here is another photograph, representing the 
 hoof of ' Tommy,' another of Mr. A. F. Astley's 
 horses. 
 
 I possess many letters from Mr. Astley in which 
 he describes the trouble which he had with ' Tommy,' 
 who was about as unsatisfactory a 
 subject for an experiment as could 
 well be imagined, having only one 
 fairly sound hoof out of the four. 
 Several times his owner was on the 
 point of abandoning the enterprise 
 as a failure, so fragile was the hoof, hoop of mr. as j ley's 
 
 -r> n /7 HORSE ' TOMMY.' 
 
 rerseverance, however, as mostly is 
 the case, succeeded at last, and ' Tommy ' was able to 
 work without shoes far better than he had done 
 while wearing them. 
 
 The history of ' Tommy ' is briefly as follows. 
 
 When the photograph was taken, the horse was 
 sufficiently old for his age to be uncertain. His 
 colour was chestnut, and his low-heeled hoofs white. 
 He had then been constantly worked for ten months 
 without shoes or any protection for the hoof. 
 
 The day before the photograph was taken, Mr. 
 
 M 
 
162 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Astley drove ' Tommy ' about twenty-four miles on 
 hard road. 
 
 The two longest drives that had then been taken 
 were these. The first from London to Watford and 
 back, between twenty-nine and thirty miles. This 
 was taken on March 29, 1883. On May 14, of the 
 same year, Mr. Astley drove ' Tommy ' to St. Albans 
 and back — i.e. about forty-two miles. 
 
 During tliis process, Mr. Astley sent me a series 
 of bulletins, sometimes in letters, which at first were 
 quite despondent, and sometimes by cards, stating the 
 number of miles which ' Tommy ' had traversed. 
 
 If the reader will contrast the photographs of 
 these two animals, he will see that ' Tommy's ' hoof has 
 scarcely any concavity, and therefore is not quite 
 so perfect an example as that of the former animal. 
 Yet, although not a perfect hoof, it is a good and 
 sound one. The bars are boldly marked, and the 
 frog has become so largely developed, that it fills up 
 almost the whole of the concavity. With such a 
 hoof as this, the animal need not fear the pointed 
 tips of shattered rocks or the razor-like edges of 
 broken flints, and would gallop over either in serene 
 unconsciousness of their existence. 
 
 Almost identical with this hoof is that of a mare 
 who has already become historical in the Battle of 
 the Shoes, and around whom long raged a wordy 
 
{ WHO SHALL DECIDE?' 163 
 
 battle, if it can be called a wordy battle, where the 
 words were all on one side and the facts on the 
 other. On reading this controversy, I am irresistibly 
 reminded of one in which I was an unwilling par- 
 taker. 
 
 Like many better men than myself, I had been 
 misled by popular prejudice, and had thought the 
 bulldog to be a stupid, fierce, morose, savage animal, 
 always ready to assault any being except his master, 
 and good for nothing except fighting. 
 
 By some chance it happened that I became the 
 possessor of an infantile bull pup, and in consequence 
 had to alter all my ideas on the subject. I found 
 that ' Apollo,' as I named him, because I then lived 
 at Belvedere, in Kent, was the sweetest in temper, 
 the most loyally affectionate, and, with one excep- 
 tion, the most intellectual dog that I ever knew. 
 No bloodhound could surpass him in scent, and no 
 retriever could have beaten him in water or on land. 
 
 As in duty bound, I took the first opportunity 
 of recanting my former opinions, and was very 
 much amused by the criticisms to which I was sub- 
 jected. 
 
 On the one side, a leading journal in the sporting- 
 interest was derisively incredulous, on the ground 
 that no bulldog could have behaved in such a 
 manner, therefore that ' Apollo ' could not have been 
 
164 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 a true bulldog, and that, therefore, I was unworthy 
 of belief. 
 
 On the other side, the ' Saturday Beview ' made 
 the following remarks, with which I entirely coin- 
 cide : — ' We cannot imagine how such a lover and 
 observer of animals as Mr. Wood could ever, save 
 in his greenest and most salad days, have entertained, 
 as he confesses he did entertain, the vulgar and 
 utterly unfounded notion that the bulldog is a savage 
 and morose brute ; the bulldog being as amiable 
 an animal as walks the face of the earth.' 
 
 Yery similar was the controversy respecting 
 * Stella,' the mare in question. She was of good lineage, 
 being the daughter of ' Blair Athol,' and in 1880, when 
 her owner, Mr. Whitmore Baker, then of Totnes, but 
 now of Paignton, Devon, began his experiments, she 
 was seven years old. She had been hunted in Devon- 
 shire for two seasons, and had been used as a hack 
 and also for drawing a four wheeled ' trap.' In 
 December 1880 Mr. Baker had the shoes removed, 
 and tried the experiment of allowing the animal 
 to do her work upon her own feet, without a pro- 
 tection of any kind. 
 
 ' I then rode the mare,' writes Mr. Baker, in 
 a letter addressed to the ' Field,' newspaper, ' when 
 snow and ice were on the ground last winter on 
 the roads in this neighbourhood, and in the town of 
 
1 STELLA.' 165 
 
 Totnes. My weight being over twelve stone, and 
 the roads almost impassable for horses shod in the 
 ordinary way, I was highly gratified to find that the 
 mare was able to trot over the slippery ground 
 without fear of slipping, and this encouraged me to 
 persevere with my treatment. After the nail-holes 
 had disappeared in the natural growth of the hoof, 
 the frog grew to its natural state, and the hoof as- 
 sumed its natural form. 
 
 ' From the time of my first experiment to this 
 date (March 11, 1882) the mare has been without 
 shoes, and has been worked both for riding and 
 driving constantly on the roads in this neighbour- 
 hood, all of them hilly, and some of them very rough 
 and trying to horses. 
 
 4 The result has been that the mare has never 
 fallen lame nor shirked work, but has stepped with 
 greater freedom and ease than she ever did before. 
 Sometimes, during this period of fourteen months, 
 she has travelled ninety-six miles in one week, and 
 now she is as sound as a bell, and never has suffered 
 from the absence of shoes in any way whatever. Nay, 
 more ; before I removed the shoes she was occasion- 
 ally lame, but since their removal she has not been 
 lame once. 
 
 ' Those of your readers who know what Devon- 
 shire roads are will, I think, concede that the test 
 
166 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 is a severe one. The result is, to my mind, conclu- 
 sive, and the mare is with me now, unshod, and 
 doing her usual work.' 
 
 Mr. Baker's success naturally drew upon him 
 the wrath of those whose living depended on farriery, 
 and their angry letters to the newspapers are 
 numerous and amusing. Of course no real argu- 
 ments could be produced, the writers having re- 
 course to sarcasm, denial of facts, and invective. 
 
 One of these professionals, in a long letter to 
 the ' North Devon Journal,' employs a most ludicrous 
 series of objections. He cannot deny that the animal 
 wears no shoes, and may be able ' to potter about, 
 and do the little she has to do barefooted.' Then 
 he states that the unshod hoof cannot withstand 
 contact with the hard roads if the animal be worked 
 regularly, entirely ignoring the fact that the horse 
 was worked regularly, and had done nearly one 
 hundred miles in a week. 
 
 Then he says that he has seen horses quite lame 
 which had been working unshod on a farm, and 
 therefore that it is impossible to work on a road 
 without going lame. Then he accuses Mr. Baker of 
 retrogression to the barbarian days when there were 
 no blacksmiths, so that the horses could not obtain 
 shoes, although they needed them. 
 
 Lastly, he takes a higher standpoint, and boldly 
 
A STRANGE ARGUMENT. 107 
 
 taxes Mr. Baker with irreligion. ' Did not He who 
 formed the horse most surely intend that we should live 
 by one another ; and is it not civilisation that brought 
 about industry of every description ; and did not He 
 who ordereth all things put it into the heart of man 
 to study what could be done to protect the feet of 
 that useful animal the horse ? ' 
 
 Which argument, being reduced to its elements, 
 means that the Creator made the horse's hoof unable 
 to do its work, so that farriers might gain a living 
 by nailing iron shoes upon it. As I can scarcely 
 expect any reader to believe that such fatuous non- 
 sense could be put forward as arguments, I must re- 
 fer him to the ' North Devon Journal ' of May 11, 1 882. 
 
 There is now before me a cast of the off-fore 
 hoof of this very animal which was benighted and 
 irreligious enough to do its work without shoes when 
 the professional shoer said that it could not work 
 unshod ; or that, if it did, it was flying in the face of 
 Providence. The cast was taken in December 1882 — 
 i.e. eight months after the letter was written. 
 
 In spite of the high lineage of the animal, the 
 hoof is not a first-rate one, the slope being too great. 
 From heel to heel the circumference of the wall is 
 thirteen inches ; from heel to toe it measures five 
 and a quarter inches, and across the quarters it is a 
 trifle more than four inches. 
 
168 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 The weight of the horse was necessarily taken off 
 the hoof when the cast was made. Had the opposite 
 foot been lifted from the ground, so that the animal 
 would have been obliged to rest upon the hoof, these 
 dimensions would have been slightly altered. 
 
 I have exhibited this cast in most of the large 
 cities and towns of this country, as well as in Ame- 
 rica, and in every case it has excited the greatest 
 interest. The most remarkable point about it is 
 the manner in which the under surface is filled up, 
 the only cavity being that on either side of the frog 
 there is a depression scarcely large enough to con- 
 tain the last two joints of a lady's little finger. 
 
 Wishing to know whether in the autumn of 1884 
 4 Stella ' was still in the possession of loofs as sound 
 as those of 1882, and still did the same amount of 
 hard work, I wrote to Mr. Whitmore Baker, and re- 
 ceived the following answer : — 
 
 ' I have the satisfaction of stating that my mare 
 " Stella's " hoofs continue in the most perfect condition, 
 and I shall be most happy if I can assist you. Devon- 
 shire may be an exceptional county (at least I hope 
 so), for though my mare is known far and wide to 
 travel shoeless, still, nothing further is said than, " It 
 is wonderful ! " and " ' Stella ' is one of a million." 
 
 ' I have offered to take any horse sent to me, and to 
 prepare the hoofs without any fee, simply the expense 
 
A GENEROUS OFFER. l'G9 
 
 of keep being paid. But none have sufficient faith ! 
 Should any one you know be inclined to send me a 
 horse, it would have my undivided attention, and be 
 another test of the perfect success of my scheme. 
 
 ' I must ask you to accept on my word the fol- 
 lowing advantages derived from my own experience : 
 
 ' 1. Five or six pounds per annum are saved by 
 non-shoeing, including the frost nails in winter. 
 
 ' 2. I can gallop " Stella" on a road covered with 
 ice, when other horses are not safe even with the use 
 of frost nails. 
 
 ' 3. The weight of the shoes is taken off the feet, 
 which is a considerable help to the horse. 
 
 ' 4. The foot, being flat from the frog, and down 
 to the ground, leaves no receptacle for stones. 
 
 ' 5. There is none of the unnecessary jar caused 
 by the shoes, so that the horse travels freer and 
 lighter.' 
 
 No question of theory can arise in this instance. 
 The fact is, that the horse has been regularly working 
 unshod over some of the most trying roads in Eng- 
 land. The theory is, that no horse can perforin such 
 a task, or that, if so, the animal must be an exceptional 
 one. Mr. Baker, resting on fact, generously offers to 
 take any horse that may be sent to him, and to make 
 its hoofs as sound as those of ' Stella.' Mr. A. F. 
 Astley, also resting on facts, made his first experiment 
 
170 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 on an unsound horse ; failed at first, but ultimately 
 succeeded, and, but for his premature death, he would 
 have picked out a series of horses condemned on 
 account of their hopelessly foundered condition, and 
 tried to give them another lease of life, together 
 with the power of work and the capacity of en- 
 joyment. 
 
 In another letter, dated Sept. 13, 1 884, Mr. AVliit- 
 more Baker writes to me as follows : — 
 
 * There is one thing which I did not state in my 
 last, and which will perhaps interest you. Having 
 some knowledge of chemistry, I made a preparation 
 for toughening born ; I then had my mare's shoes 
 removed, the edges neatly rasped, and the nail-holes 
 phigged up with whalebone. I then used my pre- 
 paration three times daily, gradually exercising the 
 mare over the road, and never allowing her to stand 
 on straw except for bedding. 
 
 ' Though I place great importance on the prepa- 
 ration, I do not say that a horse will not succeed with- 
 out it. But I maintain that it facilitates the process 
 by allowing the heels and frog to take a bearing before 
 sufficient horn has been worn away to make the parts 
 sensitive. I have known many instances where the 
 shoes have been taken off and nothing done to the 
 feet, and all have become lame within a month or so.' 
 
 Mr. Whitmore Baker's idea of plugging the nail- 
 
PORTRAIT OF 'STELLA.' 171 
 
 holes with whalebone is a singularly happy one, the 
 whalebone and hoof being identical in structure, and 
 the fibres running in the same direction. Ordinary 
 horn would answer as well if cut longitudinally, but 
 whalebone is much easier to handle. 
 
 With regard to the preparation invented by Mr. 
 Baker, it is certainly not necessary, as is shown by 
 the number of hoofs which have become strong and 
 sound without it ; but it only hastens the process of 
 hardening, or adds to its chances of success. 
 
 The portrait of ' Stella ' and her mistress (see Fron- 
 tispiece) is engraved by permission from a photograph 
 taken by Messrs. Brinley & Son, Fore Street, Totnes. 
 
 The owner of a soft-hoofed horse may naturally 
 fear to expose the animal to such an ordeal as a 
 journey upon hard and stony roads. Yet success 
 is only a matter of time, the hoof having the power 
 of accommodating itself to any kind of ground. 
 This is forcibly shown by Professor Fleming. After 
 mentioning the influence of climate, of weather, of 
 health, of age, food, and labour upon the hoof, he 
 proceeds as follows : — 
 
 ' The seasons are to some extent concerned in the 
 growth and shape of the hoof. In winter it widens, 
 becomes softer, and grows but little. In summer it is 
 condensed, becomes more rigid, concave, and resisting, 
 is exposed to severe wear, and grows more rapidly. 
 
172 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 This variation is a provision of Nature to enable the 
 hoof to adapt itself to the altered condition it has to 
 meet — hard horn to hard ground, soft horn to soft 
 ground. 
 
 ' In this way we can account for the influence of 
 locality upon the shape of the foot. On hard dry 
 ground the hoof is dense, tenacious, and somewhat 
 small, with a concave sole, and a little but firm frog ; 
 while in marshy regions it is large and spreading, the 
 horn is soft and easily destroyed by wear, the sole is 
 thin and flat, and the frog is only an immense spongy 
 mass, which is badly fitted to receive pressure from 
 even hardened soil. 
 
 ' In a dry climate we have an animal small, com- 
 pact, wiry, and vigorous, travelling on a surface which 
 demands a tenacious hoof, and not one to prevent 
 sinking. In the marshy region, we have a large, 
 heavy, lymphatic creature, one of whose primary 
 requirements is a wide, flat foot to enable it to travel 
 on a soft, yielding surface. 
 
 ' Change the respective situations of these two 
 horses, and Nature immediately begins to transform 
 them and their feet. At first the light, excitable, 
 vigorous horse, with its small vertical hoofs and con- 
 cave soles, so admirably disposed to traverse rocky 
 and slippery surfaces, is physically incompetent to 
 exist in low-lying swamps. The unwieldy animal, 
 
CHANGED CONDITIONS. 173 
 
 slow paced and torpid, with a foot perfectly adapted 
 to such a region (its ground face being so extensive 
 and flat that it sinks but little, and the frog developed 
 to such a degree as to resemble a ploughshare in 
 form, which gives it a grip of the soft, slippery 
 ground), is but indifferently suited for travelling on 
 a hard, rugged surface. 
 
 * In process of time, however, the small, concave hoof 
 expands and flattens, and the large flat one gradually be- 
 comes concentrated, hardened, and hollow, these changes 
 being designed to suit the altered physical conditions 
 in which the animals are placed.' — (Prize Essay, 1870.) 
 
 The above extract from Professor Fleming's essay 
 shows that the conversion of a soft hoof into a hard 
 one is simply a matter of time, and that the owner 
 of a soft-hoofed horse must not be discouraged if the 
 process should not be as rapid as he expected. 
 
 There is yet another point to be considered. 
 Professor Fleming goes on the supposition that the 
 two horses possessed untouched hoofs ; and it is evi- 
 dent that if the hoofs had been mutilated by the 
 farrier, the process must take a still longer time. 
 Here again, owing to the variability of hoof-growth 
 in different animals, it is impossible to lay down any 
 definite law on the subject. 
 
 Taking the average of growth, the entire hoof of 
 a shod horse is renewed annually. But when the 
 
174 HOESE AOT> MAN. 
 
 hoof is worn away by friction upon hard ground, the 
 growth is faster, in order to keep pace with the 
 waste. Keeping these two facts in mind, remember- 
 ing that all the nail-holes must have grown out, and 
 not forgetting the idiosyncrasy of the animal, the 
 trainer can form a very fair judgment of the time 
 which must elapse before the hoofs can do their full 
 work on hard roads. That the softest and worst 
 hoof can be strengthened for shoeless work is shown 
 by Mr. Baker's experience and challenge. 
 
 Let me again remind the reader that I am dealing 
 with facts and not with theories. 
 
 Here are more facts. 
 
 The manager of one of our tram-car lines wrote, 
 under the nom de plume of ' Humane,' a very remark- 
 able letter, which is given in full in Appendix K of 
 ' Horses and Eoads.' I possess the real name of the 
 writer. He begins by saying that he has to manage 
 a working staff of thirty horses, whose work is on 
 stone-paved roads, and who have to run about 
 eighteen miles per diem, at an average rate of six 
 miles an hour, stoppages included. Each of the 
 shoes which these horses formerly wore weighed 
 nearly two pounds, and the animals very soon took 
 to brushing and cutting, and then began to ' go over 
 on the knees.' 
 
 Suspecting that the fault lay in the shoe and not 
 
A TRAM-CAR HORSE. 175 
 
 in the horse, 'Humane' procured a set of Charlier 
 shoes, and tried them on one of the horses. They 
 were ten-inch shoes — i.e. more than double the need- 
 ful length. The horse was run for nearly two 
 hundred and thirty miles as a test, and the plan 
 answered so well that the ordinary shoes were aban- 
 doned and the Charlier substituted. 
 
 ■ Humane,' however, was not content with the 
 ordinary Charlier, but tried a series of experiments, 
 the result being that ' the shorter the iron, the better 
 it answers.' So he now limits the length of the shoe 
 to four inches, its weight, nails included, being four 
 ounces, as against the thirty-two ounces (without 
 nails) of the shoes which were formerly used. 
 
 He makes his own shoes in the following manner : 
 1 1 buy the half-inch round iron and flatten it to 
 three-eighths by half an inch. I cut off four inches, 
 wei^hino- four ounces, and nail on with No. 6 
 countersunk nails.' 
 
 Here I present the reader with an illustration 
 copied from a photograph taken from one of 
 ' Humane's ' tram-car horses. The animal was one 
 of the worst ' screws,' and was condemned to the 
 knacker on account of his hopelessly diseased feet. 
 His master, however, determined to give him a 
 chance of life, and tried the Charlier plan. The 
 horse at once went better for the change, and soon 
 
176 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ran perfectly sound. When the ten-inch shoe (shown 
 in the photograph) was removed, a four-inch shoe was 
 substituted with the best effects. Lastly, when the 
 shoe had to be taken off, ' Humane ' tried the experi- 
 ment of leaving the hoof entirely without protection. 
 This battered, condemned, and hopelessly diseased 
 ' screw ' then ran five hundred and forty miles with- 
 out shoes, and did his work with more ease than ever. 
 Finding that his worst horse did 
 so well, ' Humane ' removed the 
 shoes from three others, the result 
 answering all his expectations. Un- 
 fortunate!/, horses, like men, have 
 reasons to pray to be saved from 
 their friends. Some well-meaning 
 but ignorant persons raised the cry 
 of cruelty, with all the usual nonsense about artificial 
 roads compelling the use of artificial protection, and 
 ' Humane ' was obliged to have the horses again shod. 
 He did not, however, return to the ordinary shoe, 
 but employed the tip, which, though it may do no 
 good, does less harm to the hoof than any other form 
 of shoe. 
 
 I regret to say that I have heard of more than 
 one case where the managers of the E. S. P. C. A. 
 have openly declared that they will prosecute any- 
 one who rides or drives a horse without shoes. 
 
 HOOF OF TRAM-CAR 
 HORSE ('HUMANE'). 
 
SAVE ME FROM MY FRIENDS. 177 
 
 They refuse to make themselves acquainted with 
 the structure of the hoof, to listen to arguments, 
 or examine proofs. Mostly they have made up their 
 minds that to drive a horse without shoes over hard 
 roads would be as cruel as to make a man take off 
 his shoes and run over the stones at once. 
 
 Sometimes they have consulted farriers, grooms, 
 &c, and of course have been told that for a horse 
 to traverse roads unshod would be impossible, be- 
 cause if the hard iron be worn away by friction, the 
 comparatively soft horn could not possibly endure 
 the work. Thinking that people who have been 
 employed about horses all their lives could not be 
 mistaken in such a subject, they accept the state- 
 ment as if it were the result of experience based on 
 facts, and were not, as it really is, a mere opinion 
 of a subject in which they have had no practical 
 experience. 
 
 N 
 
178 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Hardening and renovating the hoof — Variety in hoofs — Thrush concealed 
 hy shoe — Dr. Brierley's horses — Horses in Italy — Mr. Theodore E. 
 Williams's horse ' Prince ' — Lame when shod — Experiment on another 
 horse, and result — Mr. Herbert Smith's experiments — Altered shape 
 of hoof — Need of perseverance — Xenophon's rules for hardening the 
 hoof — General summary of the subject. 
 
 We will close this portion of the work with a more 
 detailed description of the process which a horse's 
 hoof must undergo in order to enable it to do work 
 upon our roads without any artificial ' protection.' 
 
 It seems rather curious that we should want to 
 protect exactly that part of a horse's structure which 
 Nature has triply protected. It is still more curious 
 that the means which we employ for this purpose 
 are such that it is impossible to use them without 
 injuring and mutilating the very structures which 
 we are trying to protect. 
 
 If all roads, and all hoofs, and all horses were 
 alike, the process would be comparatively easy. 
 But, as everyone knows, there is a vast variety in 
 roads, and there is still more variety in hoofs and 
 horses. 
 
VARIETY IN HOOFS. 170 
 
 As to the lioofs, they vary in shape, in texture, 
 in the rapidity of their growth, and in the angle at 
 which they are set on the ground. There are round 
 hoofs and long hoofs, high hoofs and flat hoofs, tough 
 hoofs and brittle hoofs, &c. 
 
 Then, as it is very difficult to procure a horse 
 whose hoofs have been untouched, it is necessary 
 to take into consideration the amount of mutilation 
 to which they have been subjected, and the conse- 
 quent caution that will be required in the treatment. 
 
 Again, as has already been pointed out, even if 
 no interior ailment be manifest, incipient thrush may 
 exist, and exhibit no symptoms until the removal 
 of the shoe and the pressure of the hoof upon the 
 ground cause it to be detected. (X.B. — When this is 
 the case, there are sure to be some who will say that 
 the thrush was caused and not detected by the re- 
 moval of the shoe.) 
 
 Thus, although the general structure of the hoof 
 is alike in all horses, and the principle in which it is 
 to be renovated is the same, the details must be 
 subject to considerable variation, the amount and 
 kind of which must be left to the discretion of the 
 owner. 
 
 On referring to page 164, the reader will see that 
 Mr. Whitmore Baker gives a minute description of 
 the method which he employed while hardening 
 
 N 2 
 
180 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 the hoofs of ' Stella.' With the exception of the 
 special ' preparation ' Mr. Astley used similar means 
 when dealing with ' Tommy's ' hoofs ; and, although 
 three hoofs of his horse were unsound, succeeded, 
 after several apparent failures, in rendering the 
 animal able to do exceptionally good work upon 
 hard roads without any artificial protection to the 
 hoofs. 
 
 Dr. Brierley, of Manchester, who drove his unshod 
 horse for years over the rough granite roads of that 
 city, used no means except a gradually increasing 
 exercise on hard ground. I have seen and handled 
 the horse, which was then in full work, and all its 
 hoofs were absolutely perfect. 
 
 Dr. Brierley has now a thirteen-hand pony, 
 which, when purchased, was about four years old, 
 had never been shod, but had not done much work. 
 However, as Dr. Brierley writes in a letter to me 
 (September 7, 1884), ' I ran him for a month without 
 shoes, and he ran perfectly well, and stepped. He 
 was absolutely sound, and the hoofs perfect. I con- 
 templated selling him, and had him shod with 
 Charliers, and ran him in that way up to a month 
 ago, when he fell, barking both knees, while passing 
 through Tarporley, in Cheshire.' 
 
 The pony was now again worked, and when the 
 set of shoes had worn out, the hinder pair were not 
 
ITALIAN HORSES. 181 
 
 replaced. (I may here mention that horses in Eome 
 and Naples, where the pavement is made of lava, 
 which in wet weather is as slippery as ice, are 
 scarcely ever shod on the hind feet, while many are 
 not shod at all. In some parts, where the road is 
 very bad, there are notices requiring all riders of 
 shod horses to dismount.) But Dr. Brierley mentions 
 that the space between the frog and the sole in his 
 pony was so large that small stones became jammed in 
 the angle, so that he was obliged to have it filled up 
 with leather. Now, it is evident that the farrier's 
 knife must have been at work, and that the Charliers 
 were complete shoes and not tips, as they ought to 
 have been. Had the hoof been let alone, there could 
 have been no space to fill up, and had there been no 
 shoe, there could have been no angle for the lodg 
 ment of stones. 
 
 It is but natural to ask why a horse which was 
 in full work, which had all its feet sound, and 
 which, in addition, possessed the much-coveted 
 ' action,' should have been shod at all. The reason 
 was, that the animal was intended for sale, and 
 that at the present day purchasers can hardly 
 be found for an unshod horse. They are so much 
 accustomed to the shoe, that if an unshod horse 
 were offered for sale, they would jump to the con- 
 clusion that there was something wrong about the 
 
182 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 hoof, and that the owner did not dare to put on 
 a shoe. 
 
 It is quite certain that in the case of the Man- 
 chester pony, the animal's troubles began after the 
 shoes were applied, and that for some of them, such 
 as the lodgment of stones, the shoe was the sole 
 cause. 
 
 I will give two more examples of horses that work 
 without shoes. 
 
 Having heard that Mr. Theodore E. Williams, of 
 Salterley Grange, near Cheltenham, had for some 
 time freed his horses from shoes, I wrote for 
 further information, and received the following 
 answer : — 
 
 « September 15, 1884. 
 
 'In reply to your request for information respect- 
 ing my unshod horses, I may observe that I first 
 discarded shoes about three years ago in conse- 
 quence of a hunter called "Prince" being slightly 
 lame a day or two after hunting in the dry weather 
 of March, which I attributed to the concussion with 
 the iron shoe on hard ground. 
 
 ' Considering how this was to be avoided, I felt 
 that the iron was harder even than the ground over 
 which the horse had to travel ; I therefore deter- 
 mined to remove the shoes, and to allow the horse's 
 hoofs to recover their natural shape and condition, 
 
mr. williams's experiment. 183 
 
 in which, of course, there would be no nail-holes. 
 So I placed the horse in a straw yard, and fed him 
 with vetches and clover. As his hoofs grew, they 
 were pared and rasped, until the nail-holes had 
 entirely disappeared. 
 
 ' He was then transferred to the stable, and exer- 
 cised as usual, but I soon found that his feet wore 
 away faster than they grew. In trying to restore 
 the horse to its natural condition, I was asking him 
 to travel over roads almost as hard as rock, while 
 for twenty hours out of twenty-four he stood on 
 litter as soft as grass. It was like a hand accus- 
 tomed to be gloved working the ropes of a ship, 
 or an English gentleman's child trying to race bare- 
 footed on the granite roads with the shoeless children 
 of the Scotch Highlands. 
 
 'I therefore had the litter removed by day, and 
 henceforth the horse's feet became as tough and hard 
 as oak, and he has ever since travelled with ease 
 and elasticity. My companions in the hunting field 
 are often astonished to see how readily he gallops 
 along a road, even when fresh stoned ; and when, as 
 occasionally happens, he has to jump a fence into 
 a road, he does so with much less "jar " to his legs. 
 In difficult places I am sure he is more active and 
 quicker in recovering himself than when shod, and 
 he has never been lame since his shoes were removed. 
 
134 HORSE AND MAX. 
 
 4 Many of my friends said, " Ah ! you have cer- 
 tainly succeeded with that horse, but then he is light, 
 and must have exceptionally good feet. You could 
 not do the same with a heavy horse, as he would 
 knock his hoofs all to pieces." 
 
 ' I therefore, the summer before last, removed 
 the shoes from a sixteen-hand six-year-old horse, 
 well up to sixteen stone, and turned him out. I 
 frequently rasped his feet until the nail -holes dis- 
 appeared, allowing the wall of the hoof to project 
 very little beyond the sole. 
 
 4 He ran throughout the summer, but was often 
 otherwise worked, although his feet were not specially 
 hardened for it. For instance, I give three days' 
 work in succession. First day, sixteen miles, ridden 
 fast on the road. Second day, driven seven miles in 
 single harness, drawing five or six people. Third 
 day, ridden twenty-four miles on the road. Through- 
 out the summer I used him whenever I wanted an 
 extra horse. Last winter, I hunted him in his turn 
 with as satisfactory results as those before mentioned 
 with regard to " Prince," and this summer he has 
 been kept in condition, and regularly ridden and 
 driven. 
 
 4 In addition to the horse's action being more 
 elastic, and therefore much pleasanter to ride, I con- 
 sider he is safer, and it is obvious that I avoid the 
 
AX0THER EXPERIMENT. 185 
 
 risk of nail-pricks, corns, over-reaches, seedy toes, 
 contracted feet, and probably of splints and side 
 bones ; I therefore think that these horses are 
 likely to work much longer than if shod.' 
 
 This letter is a peculiarly valuable one, because it 
 contains a practical answer to almost every objection 
 that can be made. That the horse ' Prince ' was an ex- 
 ceptional animal is answered by the success with the 
 second horse. That an unshod hoof would be cut 
 to pieces on a newly-mended road is disproved by 
 practice ; and, as the same horse was used for hunting 
 across country, for riding over roads, and for driving 
 a carriage in single harness, the unshod hoof is 
 shown to be equal to any kind of work. 
 
 One more instance of the power of common sense 
 and perseverance. 
 
 The following letter, narrating the history of a 
 horse transformed from a shod into an unshod 
 animal, is extremely valuable, as it shows what can 
 be achieved by common sense when matched against 
 prejudice : — 
 
 1 Marton, Rugby : June 5, 1882. 
 
 'Dear Sir, — In accordance with my promise, I 
 write you the result of driving my horse without 
 shoes. 
 
 ' He was rising five years, and had been shod ever 
 since he was handled. He was a bad subject for the 
 
186 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 experiment, as he could never bear the frog to touch 
 the ground. I have now driven him for six months, 
 and he travels much easier to the driver, bears 
 thoroughly on the frog of his foot, and is more sure- 
 footed. I do not intend him to be shod again, and 
 had I a colt, I should never shoe him. The chief 
 objection to removing the shoes from a horse ac- 
 customed to them is the expense of keeping him idle 
 until the hoof begins to assume its natural shape. 
 
 ' I was fortunate in having a groom who endea- 
 voured to carry out my ideas in spite of his own 
 prejudices. 
 
 ' Any person trying the experiment should insist 
 upon thorough cleanliness in his stable, look after 
 the horse himself, be endowed with perseverance, 
 and armed in proof against ridicule. 
 
 'I may say I drive without bearing-rein or 
 blinkers. This latter plan requires great care until 
 your horse is accustomed to it. 
 
 1 1 will not intrude longer upon your time, but 
 should any person wish to question me, I shall be 
 very pleased to reply to them. 
 
 ' Yours truly, 
 
 'Herbert Smith.' 
 
 Taking Mr. Smith at his word, the late Mr. A. F. 
 Astley wrote to ask him if he would let him have 
 
HARDENING THE HOOF. 187 
 
 some details concerning the mode which he adopted 
 in fitting the hoofs of his horse for road work. He 
 was kind enough to send at once the following 
 answer, dated June 9, 1882: — 
 
 1 My horse had worn a set of shoes for about 
 three weeks when I had them taken off without pre- 
 paring his foot in any way, and he was left unshod 
 at once (no tips). 
 
 ' For the first four or five days he stood in his 
 horse box, only littered down at night ; all litter was 
 taken away during the daytime, and all refuse cleared 
 up as soon as made, so as to prevent his hoof being 
 softened by standing in it. 
 
 'For the following week or ten days he was 
 loose in a paved stable yard, to stand or move about 
 as he chose. He was then led out on the turnpike 
 road (not the turf) daily, at first for only three or 
 four hundred yards, the distance being gradually 
 increased. As he travelled better, he was mounted 
 or driven in a trap, but for some time restricted to a 
 walk. 
 
 ' In about three months I began to trot him for 
 short distances, and thus he was gradually able to 
 undertake his ordinary work. I do not think his 
 action is so high as when shod, but he is more sure- 
 footed, pleasanter to drive, and has a healthier hoof 
 than before. He appears not to travel so fast as he 
 
188 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 did, but this is only in appearance, for on timing 
 him I find he is fully as quick on his journeys. 
 
 ' His hoofs assumed a very ridiculous shape while 
 attaining their present form, the coronet at one time 
 projecting like a moulding above the lower crust (or 
 wall). The crust of the hoof has only cracked where 
 the old nail-holes had injured it, and as they wear 
 away it becomes sound and hard. (See page 107.) 
 
 1 The whole of the tenderness of the foot had 
 proceeded from pressure on the frog. Only once 
 was there a suspicion of its being worn tender, and 
 if it really were so on that occasion, a single day's 
 rest in the stable cured it. Of course his feet were 
 well washed, and I examined them myself each day 
 on his return from exercise.' 
 
 In this exceedingly valuable account, the atten- 
 tion of the reader must be drawn to one or two 
 points. 
 
 One of them is, that the owner of the horse 
 ought not to be discouraged even by such an unex- 
 pected phenomenon as an altered shape of the hoof. 
 Another, that although of course it would be better 
 for a horse never to have been shod, provided that 
 its hoofs were rightly treated, the fact that it had 
 been accustomed to wear shoes does not prohibit it 
 from doing without them. A third point has to be 
 noticed — namely, the loss of the animal's service for 
 
XENOrilON's ADVICE. 189 
 
 some months; and a fourth is the extremely judicious 
 character of the means which were employed. 
 
 Let us take the very important subject of the 
 loss of services, so that the horse is ' eating his head 
 off' while his hoofs are hardening. Few owners of 
 horses can afford to keep the auimal idle, and there 
 is not the least necessity for it. 
 
 The simplest plan is to wait until the time comes 
 for shoeing the horse, and to substitute a Charlier 
 half-shoe for that which was removed. Then, as has 
 already been mentioned, if the size of the Charlier be 
 reduced each time of shoeing, the horn will have 
 become so strong and hard, that the small tip to 
 which the shoe will be reduced about the third or 
 fourth time of shoeing may be removed altogether, 
 and nothing substituted for it. 
 
 Next we come to the means which were employed 
 in this particular case. Nothing could have been 
 more judicious, and any one who follows the same 
 plan will produce the same result. 
 
 The plan, however, is not a new one. It was 
 practised and recommended nearly 2,300 years ago 
 by Xenophon, who, as the reader will remember, 
 was not only a historian, but an acknowledged au- 
 thority on horses and dogs, and the general who con- 
 ducted the celebrated retreat of the Ten Thousand. 
 In so doing he was obliged to organise cavalry as 
 
190 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 he could, taking any horses on which he could lay 
 his hands. That most trying march lay over all 
 kinds of soils, and in order to enable the hoofs of 
 the horses on which so much depended to endure 
 such an ordeal, he laid down the following rules : — 
 
 'To prevent stable floors from being smooth, they 
 should have stones similar to a horse's hoofs in size 
 inserted in the ground, for such stable floors give 
 firmness to the feet of horses that stand on them. 
 
 * The groom must also lead the horse out of the 
 stable to the place where he is to comb him ; and 
 he should be tied away from the manger after his 
 morning's feed, that he may come to his evening's 
 meal with the greater appetite. 
 
 ' The ground outside the stable may be put into 
 excellent condition, and serve to strengthen the 
 horse's feet, if a man lays down here and there four 
 or five loads of round stones, each large enough to 
 fill the two hands, and weighing about a pound, 
 surrounding them with an iron rim, so that they 
 may not be scattered. For, as the horse stands on 
 these, he will be in much the same condition as if he 
 were to travel part of every day on a stony road. 
 
 ' A horse must also move his hoofs while he is 
 being rubbed down, or when he is annoyed with 
 flies, as much as when he is walking, and the stones 
 which are thus spread about strengthen the frog 
 
HOME OF THE HORSE. 191 
 
 of the feet.' — (Xenophon's ' Hipparcliicus,' i.e. Horse- 
 mansliip, ch. iv. par. 3, 4, 5. Watson's translation.) 
 
 Let us now try to act as a judge acts in summing 
 up a case at law when there is conflicting evidence. 
 He distinguishes between facts and surmises, refusing 
 to allow the latter to appear as evidence. In the 
 case of actual evidence differing, he impartially con- 
 siders both sides, and delivers his judgment according 
 to the value and weight of evidence. 
 
 The first and chief argument in favour of the 
 iron shoe is, that the horse was intended for soft soil, 
 and not to wear out his hoofs by carrying heavy 
 weights or by drawing heavy carriages. Also, that 
 as we use hard and artificial roads, the horse's hoofs 
 need artificial protection. 
 
 Per contra, it is urged that these statements are 
 mere assumptions, both of which can be contra- 
 dicted. 
 
 In the first place, the original home of the horse 
 is in Central Asia, where the soil is hard and rocky. 
 In the next place, the worst of our artificial roads 
 is far easier for the hoof than the broken ground 
 which the wild horse traverses. In the next place, 
 it has been proved, and is an existing fact, that 
 unshod horses can do regular and hard work whether 
 they carry a heavy rider or whether they draw a 
 
192 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 heavy carriage, and that they can work upon the 
 roughest, hardest, and most trying roads in England. 
 
 It is said that because a horse goes lame if he 
 casts a shoe, the necessity for shoes is proved. 
 
 Not at all. If the hoof were left uninjured by 
 the shoe and its adjuncts, such a theory might be 
 tenable. But if, in order to put on the shoe, the 
 farrier weakens the hoof with his knife, rasp, and 
 nails, the argument fails to the ground. 
 
 It is said that some horses which were worked 
 unshod went lame. 
 
 Very likely they dil, but not if the hoof had been 
 allowed to harden to its natural consistency. Mr. 
 Astley, for example, failed at first with his horse 
 'Tommy,' and was on the point of giving up the 
 experiment in despair. But the fault lay not with 
 the horse or the hoof, but with the owner, who was 
 too impatient, and did not give the artificially 
 weakened hoofs sufficient time to harden. As the 
 reader may remember, the experiment did finally 
 succeed, although the hoofs were in a very enfeebled 
 state when the shoes were first removed. 
 
 Do shod horses never go lame ? And when they 
 do, it can scarcely be accepted as a proof that every 
 horse must have its shoes pulled off. Neither, when 
 a barefooted horse goes lame, is it a proof that every 
 horse ought to be shod. Moreover, there are many 
 
OVERGROWN HOOFS. 193 
 
 living examples of horses which are always lame 
 when shod, and always go sound as soon as the shoes 
 are removed. 
 
 In a letter dated January 14, 1882, Mr. A. F. 
 Astley sent me a piece of information which is worth 
 recording ; — 
 
 1 A 'bus driver with whom I went yesterday 
 made some striking statements incident to the shoe 
 question. 
 
 * He was still a young man, and had been in a 
 cavalry regiment, where he had the charge of a very 
 vicious mare. Shoes seemed to be her aversion, and 
 she would kick and kick until she got them off or 
 loosened them. She once did this on the march, but 
 though with her feet unprepared for road work, she 
 completed her march without shoes.' 
 
 Mr. Astley also sent me a few lines which 
 effectually dispose of the theory that the horse was 
 intended to live on soft ground : — 
 
 1 Yesterday I was taught much ! A roan, never 
 shod, three years old, having been advertised in the 
 " Bazaar," I went down to see him. 
 
 ' There could not be a more striking proof that 
 hard ground is wanted to keep the hoof in form. This 
 colt had been kept in a grass field — a dry one — and 
 his hoofs had grown very long and out of all form. 
 In this weakened state he had got out of the field 
 
 o 
 
194 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 and galloped on the road. So the hoofs are cracked, 
 and the cracks have extended.' 
 
 The reader will perceive how an advocate of the 
 iron shoe would seize on this fact as a proof that 
 horses must be shod in order to enable them to carry 
 on their work. "Whereas, if the horse had been in 
 the hands of anyone who understood the anatomy 
 of the hoof, and had been taken over a few miles of 
 hard roads daily, it might have traversed all the 
 roads in England, from the flats of Cambridge and 
 Essex to the hills of Devon, Stafford, and Derby- 
 shire, and have possessed better hoofs than when it 
 started. 
 
 My vocation as lecturer takes me over all kinds 
 of roads in all parts of England and Scotland, not to 
 mention America, though I cannot say, as Dickens 
 did, that I have been upset out of every imaginable 
 conveyance that goes on wheels. Still, I do happen 
 to possess practical knowledge of the roads of 
 Devonshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire, all of 
 which are traversed daily by unshod horses doing 
 any kind of work. Here is an account of the 
 ordinary roads of North Staffordshire, extracted 
 from the ' Sporting and Dramatic News,' an acknow- 
 ledgedly ' horsey ' authority. It is dated August 9, 
 1884, and signed by ' Eapier,' whose identity is well 
 known to all sporting men : — 
 
STAFFORDSHIRE ROADS. 195 
 
 4 It is reserved for Staffordshire, or at all events 
 North Staffordshire, to be distinguished amongst all 
 other counties for having quite the worst roads in 
 England. I do not think I am far out in saying 
 that they never bind at any season of the year. 
 
 ' Possibly, the only " metal " that is to be obtained 
 locally consists of the round pebbles (if a stone which 
 is sometimes nearly a foot in diameter can be called 
 a pebble) which are from time to time scattered on 
 the roads. But I should have thought that some- 
 body might be found to break them into pieces. 
 Being round and smooth, they have, of course, no 
 sooner worked in with the wear of the traffic than 
 they wear out again. 
 
 ' The moral of this is that people who live in 
 Staffordshire should not drive delicately built car- 
 riages. I can recommend, however, carriage exercise 
 in this neighbourhood for those who are so singu- 
 larly constituted as to have livers.' 
 
 North Staffordshire, in fact, is very much in this 
 country what New Hampshire (the ' Granite State ') 
 is in America, as I know from practical experience 
 in both localities. Yet an unshod horse has been 
 driven over these roads without suffering any injury 
 to the hoof. 
 
 There is, then, only one merit which can be urged 
 in favour of the iron shoe, namely, that of protecting 
 
 o 2 
 
196 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 the hoof, and, as we have seen, there is abundant 
 evidence that the hoof needs no such protection. 
 
 Now we will take the opposite side, and see what 
 can be urged against the iron shoe nailed on the 
 hoof. 
 
 It is not only asserted and surmised, but proved, 
 that the shoe is the direct, or indirect cause of every 
 disease to which the hoof is liable. It causes Corns, 
 which could no more exist in the hoof of a shoeless 
 horse than in the foot of an Australian savage who 
 never saw a shoe in his life. The shoe causes 
 laminitis, quitters, thrush, and navicular disease, all 
 being inflammatory in their nature. Contracted 
 hoof, greasy heels, and sand-crack are equally 
 attributable to the shoe, and make the very name of 
 farrier a terror to all who care for the welfare of 
 their horses. 
 
 Then, the unpleasant habits of cutting, brushing, 
 interfering, and clicking cannot be contracted by 
 horses which do not wear shoes. The profession is 
 so well aware that these faults are clue to the shoe, 
 that a whole class of shoes has been constructed, 
 each of which was supposed to have the merit of 
 obviating one or other of these defects. 
 
 I do not make any of these statements on my 
 own very feeble authority. Every one of them is to 
 be found in such writers as Fleming, Mayhew, Lupton, 
 
PROFESSIONAL AUTHORITIES. 197 
 
 Youatt, Douglas, Miles, Bracy Clarke, Fearnley, 
 Eansom, Treacy, Kendall, &c. Some of these writers 
 are English and some American, and their works are 
 easy of access in any good public library. 
 
 Then, the perils of the nail have to be considered, 
 ' pricking ' the foot always causing great pain and 
 lameness, and sometimes ending in the death of the 
 animal. 
 
 The pecuniary saving of abandoning the shoe 
 I do not take into consideration, neither the cost of 
 veterinary attendance on horses which have been 
 injured by the farrier. The saving is of course con- 
 siderable, but my dealings are with the welfare of 
 the horse, and not with the pockets of the owner. 
 
 In concluding this portion of the work, I only 
 again ask the reader to balance the weight of actual 
 evidence on both sides of the question, to discharge 
 from his mind all prejudices, and to deliver his judg- 
 ment as impartially as if he were a judge acting in 
 a court of law. 
 
198 HOKSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Professional Eye — Fashion and nature — The curb — Weight and size 
 of bit — The bearing-rein — Three kinds of hearing-rein — The gag 
 bearing-rein — Mechanical parallel — The over-head rein — Neck of the 
 horse — Great ligament of the neck and its attachments — Vertebrae of 
 neck and spine — Vertebrae and railway buffers — Arrangement of a 
 train — The marting-ale — Rattling of harness and tossing of heads — 
 Sir Arthur Helps' opinion — Effect of the gag hearing-rein on the 
 spine and feet — The ' burr ' bit of America — Mr. Henry Bergh's work 
 — The locomotive and the horse. 
 
 What a wonderful product of civilisation is the 
 Professional Eye ! It begins to develop itself as soon 
 as man emerges from pure savagery, contenting itself 
 at first with the nose bone of the Australian, the 
 lip-disc of the Botocudo, and the tattooing of the 
 Marquesan and New Zealand chief. It rests with 
 satisfaction upon the vagaries of fashion, upon the 
 furnishing of our houses, and the decoration of our 
 gardens. Therefore, that our horses should be sub - 
 ject to its sway is only to be expected. 
 
 A few years ago, I met with a treatise on the 
 management of horses, in which the writer gives it 
 as his opinion that a thoroughbred horse, properly 
 harnessed, is the finest sight in the world. This 
 
HARNESS. 199 
 
 statement is illustrated with a figure of a ' properly 
 harnessed ' horse. To my very unprofessional eye 
 the horse would have been a much finer sight with- 
 out the harness, which, in fact, becomes in the 
 illustration the primary object, the horse enclosed 
 within it being of secondary consideration. 
 
 There are blinkers to prevent the horse from 
 using its eyes. There is a ' gag ' bearing-rein to 
 prevent the animal from putting its head down, 
 and a martingale to prevent it from throwing its 
 head back, and there is a long-cheeked curb bit, 
 together with its corresponding chain. Every one 
 of these appliances is not only useless, but actually 
 injurious to the horse, lessening its powers of work. 
 and wearing it out long before its time. By way 
 of a contrast, I here give two figures, copied (with 
 a few slight additions), by permission from the late 
 Mr. E. Fordham Flower's valuable pamphlet entitled 
 1 Bits and Bearing-reins.' The reader would hardly 
 imagine — I did not do so until told by Mr. Flower 
 himself — that the figures are facsimiles of the photo- 
 graphs of the same horse ! One represents the 
 animal as it appeared when purchased by Mr. Flower, 
 and hampered by improper harness, and the other 
 represents it as it appeared when driven by Mr. 
 Flower a few weeks after purchase. 
 
 Of this animal Mr. Flower writes as follows : — 
 
200 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ' A few years ago I bought a fine horse with a 
 bad character — he was a rearer, a jibber, a bolter — ■ 
 and the late coachman told me I should never be 
 able to drive him. But I liked his looks, and the 
 
 ' FASHION.' 
 
 [The attitude and harness of this figure are copied from a photograph of 
 Mr. E. F. Flower's horse as it appeared when he hought it. The 
 ears, mane, and tail are explained in the text.] 
 
 result confirmed my good opinion.' How Mr. Flower 
 wrought this change we shall now see. 
 We will first look at the bit. 
 
ME. FLOWER'S HORSE. 
 
 201 
 
 The amount of iron which is too often used in 
 a bit is almost incredible. On the next page is a 
 figure of the bit which was worn by Mr. Flower's 
 horse when he purchased it, and which was pro- 
 
 ' NATURE.' 
 
 [This is from a photograph of the horse ' Fashion ' as it appeared after 
 Mr. Flower had possessed it for a few weeks.] 
 
 nounced necessary in order to subdue its bad temper, 
 and prevent it from running away. The machine 
 weighed two pounds all but two ounces, and it 
 seems almost incredible that such a piece of iron- 
 
202 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 work should be forced into the delicate mouth of the 
 horse, but I have seen and handled it repeatedly. 
 
 Such a machine may, indeed, coerce the horse to 
 a certain extent, just as is the case with the terrible 
 Spanish bits, which are powerful enough to smash 
 the jaw of the animal. But the horse was never 
 meant to be coerced, but to be the willing servant 
 of man ; and there is, in every high- 
 spirited horse, a point at which 
 coercion loses its power, and the 
 horse, despite the pain inflicted up- 
 on it, becomes a rebel. How often 
 do we not hear the warning given, 
 * He goes quietly on the snaffle, but 
 if you touch the curb, look out 
 kemoved by mr. f or squalls.' The moral of which 
 
 "FLOWER. 
 
 ought to be, that the curb should 
 not be used at all. 
 
 A year or two ago I was accompanying a lady 
 in her carriage, which, as the day was wet, was 
 a closed one. The movement of the carriage was 
 anything but smooth, and at last became so jerky 
 that the lady asked me what could be the matter. 
 Being thus appealed to, I said that I was sure that 
 the off horse was curbed up too tightly, and that the 
 irregularity would continue until the animal was re- 
 leased from the curb. 
 
 THE BIT "WHICH WAS 
 
EFFECT OF THE CUEB. 203 
 
 She immediately stopped the carriage and went 
 to the horses' heads. The near horse was all right, 
 but the curb-chain of the off horse was drawn so 
 tightly that it actually sank into the skin of the 
 lower jaw. It was so tight that she could hardly 
 unloose it. On her inquiry, the coachman — a new 
 one — said that the horse was so restive, and given 
 to bolting, that he was afraid to drive it except with 
 a tight curb. 
 
 However, to his amazement, the lady not only 
 loosened the curb, but took it off, and put it in her 
 pocket, so that it could not be replaced. Then she 
 shifted the reins to the snaffle rings, and returned 
 to the carriage. The horse shook his head three 
 or four times, as if to assure himself that he was 
 relieved from the curb, and then went off with per- 
 fect ease and smoothness. 
 
 I had a talk with the coachman afterwards, and 
 found, as I had surmised, that the man had only 
 followed the traditions of his order, and thought that 
 a high-spirited horse must be a vicious one. He was 
 entirely surprised at the result of his mistress's action, 
 and when she took her place in the carriage after 
 removing the curb, he made up his mind to be pre- 
 pared for an accident. 
 
 I am sure that the lady in question will pardon 
 me for recording this historiette, because it re- 
 
204 HOKSE AND MAN. 
 
 doimds very much to her credit, and I mention 
 no names. 
 
 I feel quite certain that we do not realise the 
 horrible pain which is given to horses by these enor- 
 mous and weighty bits. 
 
 The reader will remember that the two portraits 
 on pp. 200 and 201 were taken from the same horse. 
 That on p. 201 was taken first, so as to show his 
 appearance when driven with a simple snaffle. After 
 this portrait was taken, the harness was removed, 
 so that the horse might be shown as he was when 
 Mr. Flower bought him. 
 
 No sooner did the animal see the groom approach 
 with the old bit and curb than he began to tremble, 
 and burst out into a profuse perspiration from ab- 
 solute terror. The effect upon the horse was so 
 great that Mr. Flower could scarcely bring him- 
 self to order the bit and harness to be placed upon 
 him. 
 
 The reader may perhaps think that this bit is an 
 exceptional one, and made especially for that horse. 
 I only wish it were so. As I write these words, Septem- 
 ber 1884, there is in the Crystal Palace an Inter- 
 national Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, and 
 among the various stalls are several which are devoted 
 to harness, and in which may be seen bits which are 
 
TUE BEARING-REIN. 205 
 
 even more ponderous than that which caused such 
 torture to Mr. Flower's horse. 
 
 There is another point to be considered with 
 regard to these heavy bits, and that is, the pain which 
 the cold iron causes to the animal in the winter time 
 when the bit is first put into its mouth. Even in 
 ordinary weather the contact of cold iron with the 
 teeth will cause pain, but in the winter time it must 
 be absolute torture. 
 
 All these bits and curbs are visible proofs that as 
 a rule those who ride or drive, and especially the 
 latter, seem to think that the object of the bit is to 
 coerce the animal, whereas its right object is to guide 
 it. A horse which has been trained to act as a ser- 
 vant and not an unwilling slave, does not need to have 
 his jaws dragged this way and that. All that he re- 
 quires is that his master should let him know what is 
 wanted of him, and he will be only too glad to obey. 
 We shall revert to this branch of the subject on a 
 future page. 
 
 THE BEARING -REIN. 
 
 Cruel as may be the bits which I have mentioned, 
 they are but trifles until they are combined with the 
 Bearing-rein, an invention by means of which the 
 
206 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 lightest snaffle may be transformed into an instrument 
 of torture. In America it receives the more appro- 
 priate title of the ' check rein.' 
 
 Originally, there is no doubt that the bearing- 
 rein was intended for purposes of show, so as to hold 
 up the horse's head, and give him an appearance of 
 being a horse of spirit. 
 
 The custom is of very great antiquity, as is shown 
 by the ancient Egyptian monuments. There we see 
 Pharaoh represented as standing in his chariot of 
 state, guiding his armies to conquest, and receiving 
 the homage and tribute of the vanquished. The 
 horses are fitted with driving-reins and bearing-reins, 
 the latter being hooked to the saddle exactly like 
 ours of the present day. 
 
 The sculptor has hit off with curious fidelity the 
 peculiar action of a horse thus trammelled, and 
 marked strongly the distinction between the harnessed 
 horses of state and those which are ridden by the 
 combatants and have their necks free. 
 
 Two kinds of bearing-reins are employed in this 
 country, and a third is largely used in America. 
 
 First we have the ordinary bearing-reins, which 
 are fastened to the cheeks of the bit, then pass 
 through a couple of drop-rings, one on each side of 
 the head, and are finally hitched over a hook or peg 
 which is fastened to the saddle. There is just one 
 
THE ' GAG ' OR ' BEDOUIN ' BEARING-REIN. 207 
 
 advantage which this rein possesses — namely, that 
 when the horse is at rest, or when it is ascending a 
 steep hill, the driver can unhitch it. 
 
 The other invention is sometimes called the 
 * Bedouin' and sometimes the ' Ga^.' The latter is 
 far more appropriate than the former, as no Bedouin, 
 even if he uses a cruelly powerful bit, and will wrench 
 the animal's jaw severely in executing the various 
 feats of horsemanship in which those Arabs take a 
 pride, ever invented such a piece of machinery as the 
 Gag bearing-rein. 
 
 The accompanying illustration is copied by per- 
 mission from the work to which reference has been 
 made. The original was taken from a photograph. 
 
 In the first place, this rein is quite independent 
 of the driving bit, and has a bit of its own. The 
 rein is first attached to the head- stall, as seen at D. 
 Then it goes through a swivel attached to its own 
 bit, as is shown at c. Thence it passes through the 
 drop-ring at B, and then is hitched over the hook 
 attached to the saddle at A. 
 
 Now let us see what is the effect on the horse. 
 
 The small diagram which is appended to the 
 figure shows this rein as reduced to its mechanical 
 equivalent, and has the same letters. When a rope, 
 weights, and pulleys are arranged as seen in the 
 diagram, a force which is represented by one pound 
 
208 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 at A will exactly balance a weight of two pounds at 
 c, so that its power is doubled. Now, in the Gag 
 bearing-rein the power is represented by the hook on 
 the saddle, which, by the way, is fastened to the tail 
 by a crupper. B is the fixed, and c the movable 
 
 ' BEDOUIN,' OR ' GAG,' BEAEING-KETN. 
 
 (From Mr. E. F. Flower's book.) 
 
 pulley, while d is the fixed end of the rope. Conse- 
 quently the force of the rein at a is exactly doubled 
 at the horse's mouth or c. 
 
 Unlike the simple bearing-rein, this machine can- 
 not be unhitched in order to release the tension of the 
 neck, as the bit is quite independent of the driving 
 
THE OVER-HEAD BEARING-REIN. 209 
 
 bit, and would fall out of the horse's mouth when the 
 rein was unhitched. 
 
 How this bit is applied may be seen from the 
 following extract from Sidney's ' Book of the Horse : ' 
 
 ' Your London coachman of the highest fashion 
 begins by drawing up the gag bit until he has enlarged 
 the mouth by at least a couple of inches. He then 
 adds a curb-bit of an inch too wide and four inches 
 too long, quite regardless of the size of the horse's 
 mouth, and having curbed this up tight, climbs on 
 his box and makes, whether moving or standing at a 
 door, a display very satisfactory to the distinguished 
 owners, who have not the least idea that their horses 
 are enduring agonies for hours. 
 
 ' The result is shown by degrees in foaming, 
 bleeding mouths, lolling tongues, spasms, restiveness, 
 &c.' In other w^ords, the horses are the victims of 
 the professional eye. 
 
 The third kind of bearing-rein I have often seen 
 in America, but never in England, and hope never to 
 do so. Instead of the rein passing along each side of 
 the head through a drop ring, it passes over the top 
 of the head, and then directly to the saddle hook. 
 For this reason it is called the ' over-head check-rein.' 
 
 I have already said that the primary object of 
 the bearing-rein was to give the horse a more spirited 
 appearance. But two other reasons are invariably 
 
 P 
 
210 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 brought forward where objections are made to its 
 use. One is, that it keeps the horse on its feet and 
 saves it from falling and breaking its knees ; and the 
 second is, that it prevents the horse from running 
 away. We will take these three 'reasons' separately, 
 but will first describe some more of the mechanism 
 of the neck and backbone. 
 
 As the reader may remember, all the parts of an 
 animal are mutually dependent on each other, and 
 any interference with one of them will exercise an 
 injurious influence on all the others. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that elasticity is 
 one of the leading characteristics on which the 
 structure of the horse is framed. How wonderfully 
 elastic is the hoof in its natural state, and how the 
 horse is injured by destroying that elasticity, has 
 been already shown. Now it is evident that an 
 elastic hoof would be useless if the body were rigid, 
 and therefore, as might be inferred from the hoof, the 
 neck and backbone combine elasticity and strength 
 in a most wonderful manner. 
 
 This is not intended to be an anatomical work, 
 and therefore I only give those details which bear 
 immediately on the subject. 
 
 If the reader will refer to the illustration which 
 represents the seven vertebras of the neck, he will 
 see that they are furnished with various projections. 
 
LIGAMENT OP THE NECK. 
 
 211 
 
 Some of these are intended for the attachments of 
 the wonderful piece of mechanism which is here 
 shown. 
 
 We all know that at the back of the human neck 
 
 LIGAMENT OP THE NECK AND ITS BRANCHES. 
 
 there is a strong ligament called scientifically ' liga- 
 mentum nuchas.' In the language of the butcher it 
 is termed the pax-wax. With man, the weight of 
 whose head is perpendicular, the ligament is, though 
 strong, comparatively small and simple, and not 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 intended to sustain the head in a horizontal position. 
 This we can realise if we have dropped some small 
 object and have been hunting for it on our hands 
 and knees. 
 
 The horse, however, needs a m ch more elaborate 
 ligament. At a is the upper and rounded portion which 
 is attached to the head. Widening and thickening 
 as it passes away from the head, it reaches the upper 
 processes of several vertebras of the back. In addition 
 it sends out a series of branches which are attached 
 to the vertebras of the neck, as shown at B. 
 
 Still carrying on the train of reasoning, an elastic 
 hoof and neck would be useless if the remaining 
 
 J-ig.2. 
 
 VERTEBRAE AND LIGAMENTS. 
 
 portion of the spine were rigid, and so we find that 
 the elasticity of the neck is carried through the rest 
 of the spine. In the illustration we have seen how 
 
VERTEBRAE AND LIGAMENTS. 213 
 
 the ligament of the neck is attached to the vertebra? 
 of the back. The preceding illustration takes the four 
 vertebra? next in order. Fig. 1 shows how the verte- 
 bra? are connected by ligaments, one set running above 
 and the other below, as seen at A and c ; fig. 2 gives 
 the front view of the tenth vertebra, and shows at B 
 the hole through which the spinal cord passes, and 
 on the floor of which rests another ligament. Fi<*. 3 
 is a diagrammatic representation of the vertebra? 
 curved in action. 
 
 There is yet another provision to ensure the 
 requisite elasticity. At each end of the * body ' of 
 the vertebra there is a thick, rounded, and very 
 elastic pad of cartilage, as may be seen diaoram- 
 matically shown at fig. 2 of the illustration on 
 page 214. At a, the vertebra? are shown in their 
 natural position, the elastic pads being in contact, 
 and held together by the ligaments which have been 
 described. At b b they are represented as compressed 
 to the utmost, so that their elasticity is practically 
 annulled. 
 
 At fig. 1 is given a diagrammatic sketch showing 
 the analogy between the chain of vertebra? and the 
 present mode of coupling railway carriages. 
 
 When I used to go to school, in the days when 
 railways were almost in their infancy, second-class 
 carriages having only two ends and a roof but no 
 
214 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 sides, and the third-class carriages being mere wooden 
 trays without seats, the system of coupling was in 
 an equally primitive state. There were no elastic 
 buffers, the only substitute being square wooden 
 blocks. 
 
 The consequence was, that when the train started, 
 a continuous series of jerks took place, each car- 
 riage jerking forward the one immediately behind it. 
 
 Fig.3. 
 
 VERTEBR2E AND RAILWAY BUFFERS. 
 
 When the engine slackened speed before stopping, 
 a corresponding series of bangs ran through the 
 train, each carriage being banged several times before 
 it stopped. 
 
 This arrangement is now confined to goods 
 trains, and is not likely to last, as even with them 
 the wear and tear caused by this jerking and banging 
 are very expensive. 
 
SPRING BUFFERS. 215 
 
 Nowadays, instead of the solid wooden blocks, 
 there is at each corner of the carriage a spring 
 buffer, one of which is shown in a section at fig. 3. 
 When the carriages are coupled, they are drawn 
 together by double screws, so that the buffers are 
 not only in contact, but press slightly upon the 
 springs, as is seen at a. Thus, the train becomes 
 a single body, instead of being a row of separate 
 carriages, and a good driver can start or stop the 
 train so quietly, that the passengers, if not guided 
 by the sense of sight, can scarcely tell when they 
 have started or stopped. 
 
 It is evident that if any of the carriages were 
 to be screwed so tightly together that the buffers 
 were forced back to their farthest limits, as shown 
 at B, the elasticity would be destroyed, and the 
 buffers rendered useless. 
 
 Now, a bearing-rein of any kind interferes with 
 the wonderful system of elastic structures which 
 have been described. Even if it be a very mild one, 
 it hinders the play of the vertebras upon each other. 
 The horse's head being tied to the saddle by the 
 bearing-rein, and the saddle being fastened to the 
 tail by the crupper, the horse's head is practically 
 tied to his tail, thus interfering with the elasticity 
 which demands freedom throughout the entire 
 length. 
 
216 HORSE AND MAN". 
 
 The gag-rein, however, does more, and forces 
 the vertebras together, like the overscrewed buffers. 
 If the reader will refer to the figure entitled 
 ' Fashion,' on p. 200, he will see that the whole 
 attitude of the animal is quite different from that of 
 the horse which is entitled ' Nature.' The peculiar 
 position of the legs requires notice. It is not acci- 
 dental, neither is it peculiar to the horse, the animal 
 being the same individual as ' Nature,' though under 
 different circumstances. 
 
 The fore-legs are pushed out in front, and the 
 hind legs extended backwards, while the middle of 
 the spine, below the saddle, is bent downwards. The 
 reason for the attitude is this : — The head has been 
 drawn back so far by the bearing-rein, that the 
 pressure on the mouth is continuous, and its force 
 doubled by reason of the mechanical action of the 
 rein. In order, then, to relieve the mouth as much 
 as possible, the horse instinctively stretches out its 
 legs, and compresses the pads between the vertebra, 
 so as to shorten the spine, and thus to lessen the 
 pressure on the mouth. 
 
 In most cases, although the head cannot be bent 
 downwards, it can be lifted upwards, but the coach- 
 man who drove this particular animal (which after- 
 wards went quietly in a snaffle, as in ' Nature ') was 
 so afraid of it, that he fastened its head down with a 
 
HEAD-TOSSING AND FOAM-FLINGING. 217 
 
 martingale, so that the head could neither be moved 
 up nor down. 
 
 This, of course, was an extreme case, and there- 
 fore was selected by Mr. Flower as a ' shocking ex- 
 ample.' 
 
 But even in those instances where the martingale 
 is not used, the torture is extreme, as is shown by 
 the action of the horses. Coachmen and grooms, 
 who are essentially possessors of the professional eye, 
 have a rooted idea that it is very grand to have 
 their horses tossing their heads and flinging foam 
 about. 
 
 They really think that the head-tossing and foam- 
 flinging are marks of pride and spirit, whereas they 
 denote pain, and vain attempts at alleviation. The 
 horse finds that although he cannot stoop his head 
 forwards without a severe jerk to his mouth, he can 
 for a moment relax the pressure by throwing his 
 head upwards. As to the foam, it is caused by the 
 pressure of the severe bit. No one ever saw a horse, 
 however spirited, or however high bred it may be, 
 toss its head and fling foam except when it is tortured 
 by the bit and bearing-rein. 
 
 Even if he were blind, a person who takes an 
 interest in this subject can tell by his ears alone 
 whether horses are wearing a severe bearing-rein. 
 The peculiar rattling of the head-harness, which 
 
218 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 is thought so grand and noble, is simply produced 
 by the attempts of the horse to shake the bit away 
 from the tortured corners of his mouth. 
 
 It is pitiful in the ' season ' to go through the 
 Park, or to pass through the fashionable streets and 
 squares, and to see the sufferings which are endured 
 by horses. While being driven round the Park, 
 stopping at fashionable shops, exhibitions, at the 
 doors of their owners' acquaintances, or even at the 
 door of the Eoyal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
 to Animals, the horses may be seen undergoing this 
 horrible torture for hours together. 
 
 The late Sir Arthur Helps put the point very 
 forcibly, but not more so than it deserved. He lays 
 the fault on the owner, who must be either ' utterly 
 unobservant of what he ought to know, or pompous, 
 or cruel.' He finishes as follows : — ' I observe the 
 equipages when the irrational tight bearing-rein is 
 used. I then look on the arms on the carriage, and 
 I know who are the greatest fools in London in the 
 upper classes. The bewigged brute and idiot of a 
 coachman of course thinks it a very fine thing to sit 
 behind these poor animals with their stuck-up heads; 
 but his master ought to know better. 
 
 6 So ought his mistress.' 
 
 I have often wondered to see ladies sitting in 
 their luxurious carriages, evidently ignorant of the 
 
SILENT SUFFERING. 219 
 
 fact that the incessant tossing of head and rattling of 
 harness are sure proofs that their horses are suffer- 
 ing from ceaseless pain. A dog would yelp and a 
 cat would scream if such pain were inflicted upon it, 
 and so would force its tortures upon the ear when 
 the eye took no notice. But the horse neither yelps 
 nor screams. It suffers silently, and its owner is too 
 thoughtless to see that it is in pain. 
 
 As to the white foam which is thought to be the 
 result of exuberant spirit, the blood-stains with 
 which it is often flecked ought to tell their own story 
 to an observant eye, even though the spectator knew 
 nothing of the habits of the horse. I regret to say, 
 however, that the generality of carriage-owners know 
 nothing of their horses, but consider them simply as 
 machines which pull the carriage, and leave them 
 wholly to the servants. 
 
 The gag bearing-rein furnishes another example 
 of the fact that interference with one part of an 
 animal is injurious to the other parts. When the 
 horse is standing with its legs outstretched and its 
 spine contracted, the weight of the body rests on 
 the heels of the front hoofs, and not on the flat 
 surface. 
 
 Not only that, but the horse, in addition to its 
 weight, is exercising a muscular pressure on the 
 heel. Thus, as was pointed out by Mr. Darby, the 
 
220 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 heel becomes inflamed and the terrible navicular 
 disease sets in. Besides, the abnormal strain upon 
 the tendons is so great that they give way, and the 
 horse cannot use its limbs in the natural manner. 
 
 So we find that the £ao;-rem, which interferes 
 with the neck and spine, also injures the feet. Now 
 we will see how it injures some of the internal organs 
 of the animal, such as the brain, heart, and lungs, and 
 will take the authority of Mr. S. Gill, Y.S., as quoted 
 by Mr. Flower. ' Members of the veterinary profes- 
 sion are by no means ignorant of the various diseases 
 produced by the use of the bearing rein — roaring, 
 apoplexy, coma, megrims, inflammation, and soften- 
 ing of the brain, all following the barbarous use of 
 this rein.' 
 
 There is not one word to be said in favour of 
 the gag bearing-rein. No one even pretends to aver 
 that the gag-rein serves any purpose except that of 
 show. Its only object is to hold the horse's head up 
 higher than Nature intended, and as long as that 
 purpose is served the driver is content. 
 
 One would have thought that such a machine of 
 torture as the gag bearing-rein would have satisfied 
 any one, but in America an addition was made to it 
 in the form of the ' Burr ' bit. Owing mostly to the 
 efforts of Mr. Henry Bergh, of New York, it is now 
 very seldom if ever seen. I looked out carefully 
 
THE BURR BIT. 221 
 
 during my six months' stay in the country, but never 
 saw one. So I take the account from an American 
 source, in an article entitled ' Henry Bergh and his 
 Work,' in Scribners Monthly for April 1879 : — 
 
 * The coachmen of the city, mostly without the 
 knowledge of their employers, began using a round 
 leather bit-guard, barbed with short spikes, so that 
 when the reins were tightened the nails sunk into 
 the side of the horse's head and made the animal 
 exhibit a very fashionable degree of mettle.' 
 
 The reader will notice that the Burr was mostly 
 employed by the coachman without the knowledge 
 of the owner. But the owner had no excuse for 
 such culpable ignorance. Mr. Bergh could discover 
 it and insist upon its removal, and if he could do so, 
 a fortiori could the owner. 
 
222 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE Xm. 
 
 The bearing-rein continued — The locomotive and the brake — Probation 
 of an engine driver — The bearing-rein and the break— Leading reins 
 converted into bearing-reins — Railway companies and the bearing- 
 rein — Theories as to the bearing-rein — Its supposed use in preventing 
 the horse from falling — Bearing-reins and hills — Harness in Scotland 
 — The bearing-rein in Bristol — Mr. Oracknell's testimony — The 
 bearing-rein and runaway horses — A grievous experience — The 
 shoulder injured by the bearing-rein — Testimony of more than a 
 hundred veterinary surgeons — ' Roaring ' caused by the bearing-rein 
 — Mistaken zeal — Summary — ' Tree Lance's ' check for a runaway 
 horse. 
 
 If we can imagine the driver of a locomotive engine 
 putting on the brakes and then turning on full steam, 
 so as to produce plenty of puffing, and smoke, and 
 sparks, and thinking that he was 'showing off' his 
 engine to the best advantage, we should set him 
 down as a maniac, or at the best an ignorant fool. 
 Certain it is, that no engine owner would keep the 
 man in his employ for five minutes. 
 
 Yet the coachman who uses the gag-rein is doing 
 exactly the same thing. He is wasting the power of 
 the horse in snorting, and foaming, and pawing, and 
 head- tossing, while preventing him from drawing 
 
SHOWING OFF A HORSE. 223 
 
 with his weight as he ought to do, and all the time 
 is under the impression that he is ' showing off' the 
 animal. The fact is, that just as fashionable women 
 dress against each other, so do fashionable coachmen 
 show off their horses against each other, and are 
 afraid of each other's sneers. 
 
 Abandoning the gag bearing-rein as a torture- 
 giving machine invented solely to minister to the pride 
 of man, and without the least shadow of excuse, I shall 
 try to show that any bearing-rein is doubly injurious 
 — firstly to the horse, and secondly to its owner. 
 
 For the present, I shall put aside the question of 
 humanity, and consider the horse simply as a con- 
 venient traction engine. 
 
 Every one will concede that the object of a trac- 
 tion engine is to draw its load, and that any piece of 
 machinery which hinders it from drawing must be 
 injurious to it. Moreover, every one possessed of 
 common sense will concede that, in order to be pro- 
 fitable to the owner, the machine should be made to 
 do all the work that can be got out of it, and that it 
 should last as long as possible. Lastly, it is clear 
 that the working cost should be reduced to the 
 lowest limit consistent with the proper working of 
 the machine ; in other words, that there should be 
 no waste of the fuel that produces the power, nor of 
 the power when it is produced. 
 
224 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Now, when we have to deal with a machine, we 
 take care that all these conditions shall be fulfilled. 
 In a very interesting work called ' Engine-driving 
 Life,' there is a most curious history of the ordeals 
 through which a man has to pass even before he 
 gains his certificate as a fireman or ' stoker,' * an 
 accomplishment that thousands have tried at and 
 failed.' The book is of especial value as having been 
 written by Mr. Michael Eeynolds, a man who has 
 gone through the whole of the ordeals himself. 
 
 There we learn how as a small boy he begins by 
 being sent into the fire-box to take out, clean, and 
 replace the bars and polish the tube plate — this work 
 often being done at a temperature of 250°. When he 
 is too big to crawl into the fire-box, he is promoted 
 to ' cleaner.' Now, cleaning an engine after a run 
 occupies at least ten hours of steady work, and the 
 boy has to learn not only how to clean, but when to 
 clean each part — i.e. which parts must be cleaned 
 while they are hot, and which can wait until they are 
 cold. 
 
 Then he has to pass a time of probation in firing, 
 beginning with shunting engines, and learning all he 
 can, before he can obtain a certificate which enables 
 him to work on a passenger train. So he goes on, 
 always learning, his doings of every day being re- 
 corded, so that the record can be produced against 
 
ABILITY OF DRIVERS. 225 
 
 or for him ; and even after all this work, he has to 
 pass a severe examination before he is allowed to 
 take charge of an engine. 
 
 Then he goes through similar tests and trials as 
 driver of goods trains before the lives of passengers 
 are entrusted to him, sometimes being sent back as 
 fireman, and having to go through all the trials 
 again, until he works his way to the top of the tree, 
 and is allowed to drive an express. 
 
 I wish that something of the kind could be done 
 with the drivers of the locomotive engine which 
 we call a horse. If authorised boards of examiners 
 could be formed, and horse-owners would agree to 
 employ no man or boy who could not produce a 
 certificate showing that he was competent to do the 
 work for which he engaged himself, we should find 
 the lives of our horses nearly, if not quite, doubled in 
 length, the amount of work trebled, and the cost 
 halved. As the reader will see, I am only appealing 
 to the personal interests of the owners, and am con- 
 sidering the horse as a mere machine, without more 
 feelings than if it were made of steel and brass. 
 
 ' Upon the railway,' says Mr. Eeynolds, ' nothing 
 should be regarded lightly,' and so it ought to be 
 with regard to the horse. 
 
 One of the first faults of the bearing-rein, con- 
 sidered as a part of the machinery, is, that it prevents 
 
 Q 
 
226 HORSE AXD MAX. 
 
 the horse from doing his full amount of work, and 
 therefore is a cause of loss to the owner. The horse 
 is made so as to draw by means of his weight, added 
 to the propelling power of his hind legs. In order 
 to do this, he must be able to lean forward, and if 
 he be taking a load up hill, a free horse will fling 
 himself so far forward, that his nose comes half-way 
 to the ground. But this is all wrong to the profes- 
 sional eye, which likes to see a horse's head well up, 
 no matter what work he may be doing. So the 
 bearing-rein comes into operation, and up goes the 
 horse's head. Consequently, instead of being able 
 to fling his weight into the collar, the horse is obliged 
 to scratch himself along by the muscles of the fore- 
 legs, digging his toes into the ground so as to secure 
 a hold. The legs, not being intended for that kind 
 of work, soon become strained, and so the horse is 
 worn out before its time. The bearing-rein, in fact, 
 is to the horse what the brake is to an engine. No 
 one would be foolish enough to waste the power of 
 an engine by keeping the brakes down during work 
 time, and exactly similar is the result of working the 
 horse while the bearing-rein is used. My house is 
 close to the High Level Eailway station at Upper 
 Norwood, where vast quantities of coal, bricks, and 
 other heavy goods are constantly delivered. There 
 is scarcely a waggon in which the horses are not 
 
ACTION OF THE HORSE. 227 
 
 hampered with bearing-reins. Even if there be no 
 separate bearing-reins, the leading reins are converted 
 into them by being twisted round the hanies of the 
 collar. 
 
 A horse naturally bows its head and neck at each 
 step, this action being intensified when it is drawing 
 a weight up hill, and adding to the power of draught. 
 Yet some of the horses are * borne up ' so tightly 
 that their heads are nearly immovable, while the 
 others are brought up sharply by the bit against the 
 corners of their mouths each time that they try to 
 add to their power by allowing the head and neck 
 to droop as they step. It is quite pitiful to see the 
 animals straining at their loads on the ' City of the 
 Seven Hills,' as Upper Norwood is popularly called. 
 Four horses will be seen with their heads dragged 
 back, struggling and scratching to pull up the hill 
 a load which would not be too much for three 
 similar horses with their heads free. Seasoning and 
 remonstrance are equally thrown away upon the 
 drivers. They have been used to the bearing-rein 
 all their lives, and cannot be made to believe that 
 they may possibly have been wrong all their lives. 
 If an ordinary carter be told that several railway 
 companies employ some two thousand horses each 
 in similarly heavy work, and never allow the bearing- 
 rein to be used, not the least impression will be made 
 
 q2 
 
228 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 on his mind ; neither will he be convinced if he be 
 shown the magnificent horses belonging to many 
 great London firms, such, for example, as Messrs. 
 Barclay and Perkins, all of them doing their work 
 with free heads. 
 
 Even the owners cannot depend on the men. 
 The strictest orders may be given, and may be 
 obeyed as long as the men can be watched, but no 
 sooner is the master's eye withdrawn than on go 
 the bearing-reins again. It is easy enough to take 
 away the bearing- reins themselves, but the horses 
 must have reins of some sort, and these can always 
 be converted into bearing-reins, as has already been 
 mentioned. 
 
 I fear that the only cure will be that which 
 Messrs. Barclay and Perkins have employed so suc- 
 cessfully — i.e. instant dismissal on disobedience to 
 orders. 
 
 Sometimes the personal argument will be effec- 
 tual, at all events for a time. Give the man a light 
 cart, put him between the shafts, and set him to pull 
 the cart up a hill. He will instinctively lean for- 
 ward in proportion to the heaviness of the task. 
 Then set him to perform the same work, but do not 
 let him lean forward. 
 
 If this little experiment be conducted with good 
 humour and tact, the man will mostly be convinced. 
 
STUMBLING. 229 
 
 But he will probably be so ridiculed by his com- 
 rades that iu selfdefeuce he will revert to the 
 bearing-rein. 
 
 Now we come to the theory that the bearing-rein 
 prevents the horse from falling. 
 
 A more ludicrously absurd idea never entered 
 into a human head, and it is wonderful that a child 
 of six years old should believe that tying a horse's 
 head to its tail or its collar can prevent it from 
 falling if it stumbles. 
 
 Let anyone who believes this to be the fact tie 
 his head back to his waist by a similar strap, and 
 then run over rough ground. He will find himself 
 even more likely to fall than when his head was free. 
 
 If the bearing-rein were fastened, not to the 
 horse, but to the top of the carriage, there might be 
 some show of reason in the idea. Even in that case 
 the horse is so heavy that no rein could hold it up, 
 but must snap under the strain. Supposing that 
 it could sustain the horse, matters would be still 
 worse for the animal, which would be left with its 
 whole weight hanging on its mouth. What mostly 
 happens when a tightly ' borne-up ' horse stumbles, is 
 that he falls forward, and the rein is either snapped, 
 or the hook is pulled out of the saddle. 
 
 Should the horse fall, it would be almost im- 
 
230 HORSE AND MAN". 
 
 possible for the horse to recover its feet unless the 
 bearing-rein be removed. In fact, as Mr. S. Gill 
 very rightly says, ' To imagine the animal is prevented 
 from falling by this reining up of the head is an error. 
 The pressure on the veins and arteries impeding 
 the flow of blood, it is impossible for the animal 
 stumbling to recover himself.' 
 
 It is a remarkable fact in the history of the 
 bearing-rein that in England hilly ground is always 
 made an excuse for the employment of this rein. 
 Here, close to the Crystal Palace, the absence of 
 level ground is always brought forward when anyone 
 tries to persuade a driver to remove the bearing-rein. 
 
 It is not so in Scotland, and yet Scotland is far 
 more hilly than England. Any of my readers who 
 know Edinburgh, for example, and have been obliged 
 to walk from the New Town to the Castle against 
 time, must be tolerable judges of a hill. Yet during 
 the whole time that I was in Edinburgh I saw 
 scarcely a bearing-rein in use. The very few that 
 I did see belonged to gentlemen's horses, and had 
 been imported from England. 
 
 The Scotch are far too canny to act so foolishly. 
 They know the value of a horse's work, and do not 
 choose to hamper the animal with a contrivance 
 which prevents it from putting forth its full 
 strength. 
 
BRISTOL CARTERS. 231 
 
 They also know that, according to Professor 
 Fleming, the bearing-rein ' does not prevent stum- 
 bling, but, on the contrary, predisposes the horse to 
 fall, and with much more severity than if it were not 
 used.' Lastly, putting the welfare of the horse out 
 of the question, the bearing-rein adds to the expense 
 and weight of harness, and mves additional trouble 
 in keeping it clean. There are some firms which do 
 not include the bearing-rein in their estimates of 
 harness, and, if the buyer insists upon having it, a 
 separate charge is made for it. 
 
 A few years ago I had the pleasure of giving a 
 lecture on the subject at Bristol. I think that nearly, 
 if not quite, four hundred carters and other drivers 
 were present. Bristol being on very hilly ground, 
 the bearing-rein was almost universally employed. 
 However, after much discussion, many of the drivers 
 did see the mistaken ideas under which they had 
 been labouring, and in order to keep each other in 
 countenance, were formed into a society, the mem- 
 bers of which wore a little rosette, by which they 
 could be distinguished. 
 
 I was rather amused with one of the men. After 
 having abandoned the bearing-rein for a few days, 
 he was so delighted with the result, that he procured 
 two additional rosettes, and fastened one on each 
 side of the horse's head. 
 
232 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 A most valuable contribution to the literature 
 of the bearing-rein is afforded by Mr. E. Cracknell, 
 the well-known coachman on the London and Bir- 
 mingham road, in a letter to Mr. Flower : — 
 
 ' I drove the " Tantivy " coach nearly twenty 
 years without a bearing-rein, and seldom had a horse 
 fall, although they went at a great pace, and I fre- 
 quently drove as many as seventy-two per day. The 
 class of horses I had to drive were difficult, many of 
 them being old steeple-chasers, hunters, Newmarket 
 weeds, &c. 
 
 ' My first experience in dispensing with the bear- 
 ing-rein was between Henley-on-Thames and Henley ; 
 it was the practice to walk the horses, the greater 
 part of the hill being very steep. One day I left off 
 the bearing-reins, and was astonished at the result ; 
 the horses never attempted to slacken their pace, but 
 trotted the whole distance up the hill. From that 
 time I dispensed with the bearing-reins entirely. 
 
 ' There was a strong prejudice at first with my 
 colleagues against it, but eventually they adopted 
 my plan. I had most troublesome, dissipated horses 
 to manage, but with a light hand and their heads at 
 liberty they generally became tractable.' 
 
 The reader will observe that Mr. Cracknell does 
 not state that horses never fall when the bearing-rein 
 is not used. When seventy horses are driven daily at 
 
RUNNING AWAY. 233 
 
 a fast pace, it is not reasonable to expect that there 
 should be no falls. He only states that the falls 
 were few, and in another part of the letter he refers 
 to the acknowledged fact that if a horse falls when 
 he is wearing the bearing-rein, he cannot rise until it 
 is removed. 
 
 Putting aside the cab-horses, which, fortunately 
 for them, are not hampered with these appliances, 
 every other horse at least that falls in London is 
 weariug the bearing-rein or its equivalent. Now I 
 do not say that these horses fell because they wore 
 the bearing-rein, and it would be equally foolish 
 to say that the others fell because they did not 
 wear it. 
 
 Supposing that we grant — which I do not — that 
 the chances of falling are equal, at all events, the 
 horse which does not wear the bearing-rein has the 
 better chance of getting up again. 
 
 The last argument which the advocates of the bear- 
 ing-rein offer is, that it is a safeguard against horses 
 running away — i.e. that a horse cannot run away 
 while it wears a tight bearing-rein. I never could 
 see how this effect could be produced, although it is 
 assumed as an axiom by the defenders of this rein. 
 But it is similarly assumed that the bearing-rein 
 protects the horse against stumbling or falling. 
 
 In fact, the pain which is produced by it will 
 
234 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 make a horse unmanageable and likely to run away. 
 Here is a case in point. 
 
 The late Mr. B. Shaw, M.P., possessed a horse 
 which was so violent that the coachman ordered a 
 very severe bit to be made expressly for it. Before 
 the bit was sent from the maker, a groom was 
 exercising the horse, and, in order to prevent it 
 from running away and to keep it under control, the 
 bearing-rein was employed as usual, and drawn back 
 up to the last hole. 
 
 The horse was, as the groom said, exceedingly 
 ' fresh ' and restive, and struggled so violently that 
 the rein broke. ' I thought it was all up witli me,' 
 said the groom, ' but to my surprise the horse 
 became at once manageable, and went beautifully, t 
 and the severe bit was never used.' 
 
 Lord Palmerston used to say that ' a runaway 
 horse is best kept in by a light hand and an easy 
 snaffle,' and his opinion is corroborated by that of 
 Mr. Cracknell, as quoted above. 
 
 The best authorities are unanimous in their con- 
 demnation of the bearing-rein. Sir Francis Head, 
 who did as much miscellaneous horsemanship as 
 man can well do, always employed the strongest 
 language against it. 
 
 d o e> 
 
 The authors of standard works on the subject 
 equally condemn it. Mayhew never loses an oppor- 
 
AN IMPORTANT MANIFESTO. 235 
 
 tunity of denouncing it. In classifying horses which 
 are crippled by injudicious treatment, he proceeds 
 as follows : ' A fourth set are rendered cripples by 
 the unfeeling use of the bearing-rein, which disables 
 the organs of respiration, and renders the lightest 
 draught a terrible burden, by throwing the work on 
 the muscles of the limbs, while it compels these 
 agents to contract at a terrible disadvantage. 
 
 ' Those who delight in a lofty crest may accom- 
 plish more by attention to the health and diet than 
 by the absence of humanity. The strongest bearing- 
 rein and the sharpest bit cannot exalt the head of a 
 spiritless horse.' 
 
 In another part of the work he shows by a series 
 of diagrams how the best shoulder is ruined by the 
 bearing-rein, and how the horse, from having its 
 head raised abnormally and prevented from seeing 
 the ground, by degrees acquires a step which is 
 almost identical with that of a blind animal. 
 
 Youatt, in his well-known work, writes equally 
 strongly on the subject, and so does Fleming. 
 
 If any other argument could be required, it may 
 be found in an important document which was issued 
 a few years ago : — 
 
 ' We, the undersigned, are of opinion that the 
 use of the bearing-rein, when tightly applied, is pain- 
 ful and irritating to horses, is directly or indirectly 
 
236 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 productive of disease when regularly worn, and by 
 its mechanical action greatly hinders horses from 
 employing their full strength. For the above 
 reasons — on the plea of utility as well as humanity 
 ■ — its use should be discontinued.' 
 
 This document is signed, not by ' theorists ' or ' hu- 
 manitarians,' nor by ignorant and impulsive women, 
 but by upwards of a hundred well-known veterinary 
 surgeons, six of whom are professors in the veterinary 
 colleges of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, &c. Twenty- 
 four of them are Fellows of the Eoyal College of 
 Veterinary Surgeons, and the remainder are Members 
 of the College. 
 
 Several accompanied their signatures with addi- 
 tional remarks. 
 
 Professor Axe, of the Eoyal Veterinary College, 
 London, makes the following statement : ' Eleven years' 
 experience in the post-mortem house and the dissecting- 
 room of our college has made me acquainted with a 
 variety of structural alterations and deformities arising 
 from this cause, and which must have rendered life a 
 burden and shortened its span. . . . If the public could 
 see and understand the effects of its insidious work on 
 the respiratory and other organs, I do not think that 
 its use would be long continued by them.' 
 
 Mr. W. G. Taylor, of Nottingham, in allusion 
 to the adjective ' tight ' as applied to these reins, 
 
INJURED TONGUES. 237 
 
 adds that he disapproves of the bearing-rein in any 
 form. 
 
 Mr. J. Y. Blake, of Ryde, states that many horses 
 have come under his notice with their tongues par- 
 tially severed by its use. 
 
 Mr. W. E. Marriott, of Colgrave, Nottingham, 
 cites it as one of the causes of ' poll-evil ' — i.e. abscess 
 on the head; and Mr. J. Freeman, of Hull, F.R.C.Y.S., 
 writes as follows : ' I have often been asked for some- 
 thing to rub the glands of the throat with when a 
 tight rein has been used In one case of injury by 
 the bearing-rein, I begged the driver to leave it with 
 me for three weeks. At the end of that time he 
 called, saying that his horse had got quite well with- 
 out medicine. 
 
 That the bearing-rein causes * roaring ' and other 
 diseases of the respiratory system we have already 
 seen. The cause is simple enough. The windpipe 
 is forced into an unnatural curve by the bearing-rein, 
 and the supply of air is therefore checked in its pas- 
 sage to and from the lungs. 
 
 As to the limitation which is apparently implied 
 by the words ' tight bearing-rein,' it is really no 
 limitation. A bearing- rein which does not ' bear ' on 
 the horse — i.e. is not tight — is practically no bearing- 
 rein at all, and only a piece of supplementary harness 
 hung at the horse's head by way of ornament. 
 
238 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 Absurd as it may seem, I have personally known 
 more than one case where the owner compromised with 
 his coachman, and permitted him to retain the bear- 
 ing-rein provided that it were too slack to press 
 against the mouth even if the horse fell. The man 
 was afraid to meet the professional eye of his fellows, 
 and was not proof against the sneers to which he 
 knew he would be subjected if his horses wore no 
 bearing-reins. 
 
 One of the most important points in the veterinary 
 surgeon's overwhelming condemnation of the bearing- 
 rein may not have struck the reader. It is the strong 
 sense of honour shown by the writers. 
 
 Every reform has some adherents, whose zeal 
 outruns their discretion, and who do more harm to 
 their cause than if they had been active opponents. 
 For example, soon after the Battle of the Bearing- 
 reins began, some ladies made an outcry against the 
 neighbouring carters, accusing them of employing 
 the cruel bearing-reins, &c. The men, however, 
 proved that they had no bearing-reins, but only 
 the leading reins, and that their accusers did not 
 know the difference. Consequently, the enemy was 
 routed. 
 
 I very much fear, however, that although the ladies 
 might not have been able to distinguish a bearing-rein 
 from a leading-rein, the men may after all have out- 
 
IMPETUOSITIES. 239 
 
 witted them, the leading-rein being immediately con- 
 vertible into a true bearing-rein by a twist round 
 the names, 
 
 Other ' impetuosities,' to borrow Charles Keade's 
 term, made an onslaught on the veterinary surgeons 
 as a body, accusing them of encouraging, or at least 
 conniving at the use of the bearing-rein, because the 
 horses were injured by it, and so grist was brought 
 to their mill. I use, as far as I can remember, the 
 identical terms. 
 
 Now, in this indictment there was just that scin- 
 tillula of truth which makes such an accusation 
 doubly exasperating. It is perfectly true that a large 
 portion of the ailments of horses is caused by the 
 bearing-rein, and that if it were to be wholly abolished, 
 the veterinary surgeons w T ould have fewer patients. 
 But A has no right to assume that because B would 
 gain by perpetrating a dishonourable action, B would 
 do it. Still less has A a risdit to assume that B 
 actually does perpetrate that action, and still less 
 to accuse him of it publicly. 
 
 The above manifesto of the veterinary surgeons 
 is a complete answer to the charge, and shows that, 
 although by advising the use of the bearing-rein 
 they would sensibly increase their gains, they are 
 far too honourable to do so at the expense of the 
 horse. 
 
240 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 Now suppose that we sum up the arguments in 
 favour of the bearing-rein and against it. 
 
 On the one side, the bearing-rein is said to impart 
 an appearance of mettle to the horse, and to make it 
 look imposing. It is said also to save the horse from 
 stumbling or falling, and to prevent it from running 
 away. If these statements could be proved, no 
 owner of a horse would be justified in refusing to 
 confer such a benefit upon his horse. But how does 
 the case really stand? 
 
 In the first place, the appearance of the horse is 
 not improved, except to the professional eye, which, 
 not many years ago, demanded that the ears should 
 be cropped and the tail docked and ' nicked ' be- 
 fore that eye's requirements were satisfied. To the 
 eye of the naturalist or artist the artificially dis- 
 torted attitude of the animal becomes a deformity. 
 ' Imagine,' writes a correspondent of the ' Animal 
 World,' ' a Landseer being asked to paint one of 
 these deformed fore-quarters and straddling bodies 
 while suffering from the gag-rein ! ' 
 
 Secondly, we have seen that if the bearing- rein 
 has any influence upon the tendency of the horse to 
 fall, it rather increases than decreases that tendency ; 
 while the assertion that it holds up a horse from 
 falling, by tying his head to his back, is so glaringly 
 absurd as to require no refutation. 
 
SUMMARY. 241 
 
 Lastly, it has been shown that bearing-reins and 
 severe bits cannot prevent a horse from running 
 away, nor stop him when he has started. On the 
 contrary, it has been shown that they are much 
 more likely to incite him to run away. 
 
 Now let us see what the opponents of the bearing- 
 rein have to say on their side of the question. In 
 the first place they have proved that the bearing-rein 
 causes torture to the horse in proportion to the 
 tightness with which it is drawn. They have proved 
 beyond the power of contradiction that it causes 
 various diseases and ailments, roaring, poll-evil, 
 apoplexy, spavin, navicular disease, swelling of the 
 glands of the neck, and distortion of the shoulder. 
 That it deprives the horse of its powers of traction 
 in proportion to the tightness of the rein no one 
 has attempted to deny. That it ' renders the life of 
 the horse a burden and shortens its span,' has been 
 shown by Professor Axe. The injury which it does 
 to the sensitive mouth of the horse is too evident to 
 need proof. 
 
 Added to this, we have the unanimous condem- 
 nation of it by more than a hundred of our best 
 veterinary surgeons. 
 
 Even granting that it did give the horse a more 
 mettlesome aspect, that it did keep the animal from 
 falling, and that it did prevent him from running 
 
 K 
 
242 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 away, we should have no excuse for attaching to the 
 animal an appliance which keeps him in constant 
 pain while he is at work, which inflicts upon him a 
 variety of painful ailments, and which helps to wear 
 him out in a life of suffering before he has passed 
 the half of his natural existence. 
 
 Parenthetically, with regard to the runaway 
 horse, Mr. Gr. Ransom (' Free Lance ') has invented a 
 contrivance which, without inflicting the least pain, 
 will stop the most infuriated horse within a few yards. 
 He was good enough to present me with his original 
 model. It is made of brass, and somewhat resembles 
 a lady's hinged bracelet not quite three quarters of 
 an inch in width. 
 
 When fitted, it passes over the nose and is not 
 in the least conspicuous. If the horse attempts to 
 run away, the driver or rider has only to pull a strap 
 connected with the apparatus, which has the effect 
 of closing the nostrils. Now the horse, when its 
 nostrils are closed, is quite helpless, not being able 
 to breathe, and so is brought to a standstill. 
 
 The North American Indian women have a 
 similar mode of teaching their babies not to cry. 
 The first time that a baby raises its voice, the mother 
 closes its mouth and compresses its nostrils, and as 
 the process is repeated whenever the child cries, it 
 
me. ransom's invention. 243 
 
 very soon learns to be silent. In consequence of this 
 treatment, such a sound as the crying of a baby is 
 never heard in a native encampment, even though 
 there may be plenty of babies in it, lying on the 
 ground, or hung up to branches to be out of the 
 way. 
 
 Perhaps Mr. Eansom, who knows the Indians 
 well, took his idea from this custom. 
 
244 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 The BLrNKER and its supposed uses — Cropping of ears — Alleged necessity 
 for cropping — Contradictory temperament of the horse — Courage and 
 timidity — Inquisitiveness — Rarey's principle — The kettle-drummer's 
 horse — Mr. C. H. Tamplin's experience — Obstinacy of a coachman — 
 Value of the ' master's eye ' — Waterton at Walton Hall — Letter 
 from 'C. F. W.' to the Field newspaper — 'Jockeying' adviser — 
 Modified blinkers — Eye of the horse — Cruel superstitions — The third 
 eyelid, or ' nictitating membrane ' and its use — The groom's rashness 
 and its effects. 
 
 We have not quite finished with the horse's head. 
 
 Attached to the head harness of horses used for 
 driving are almost invariably a pair of leather flaps 
 called blinkers, which cover the eyes, and prevent 
 the animal from seeing objects behind or on either 
 side of him. 
 
 For riding purposes, blinkers are never used, or 
 at all events so seldom, that if a ridden horse were 
 to be seen with them, considerable astonishment 
 would be excited, and in all probability the horse 
 and its rider would have to endure no small amount 
 of derision. In America these appliances are called 
 blinders. 
 
THE EAR. 245 
 
 Their object is to prevent the horse from seeing 
 objects which will frighten it. Why a horse should 
 be frightened when it is driven, and not frightened 
 when it is ridden, is rather difficult of comprehension. 
 If we accept the assumption that a horse must be 
 frightened at objects which it can see, we ought to 
 be consistent and assume that it must be frightened 
 at sounds which it can hear. And, to be consistent, 
 we ought to stop the horse's ears as well as blind its 
 eyes. Indeed, seeing what pranks are played with 
 the horse, I very much wonder that ear-stoppers 
 have not come into fashion long ago. Perhaps they 
 might have done so, if they could have been adorned 
 with a Greek or Latin title, such as Otoclids or 
 Auriclauders, made ornamental, and, like blinkers, 
 could bear the crest of the owner. There are many 
 men still living who can remember when a horse 
 was considered quite unfit to be looked at unless his 
 ears were cropped close to his head, just as was the 
 case only a few years ago with many breeds of 
 dogs. 
 
 At the present day we should say that the whole 
 beauty of the head was destroyed by the loss of the 
 mobile ears, which indicate the emotions which pass 
 through the animal's mind, and that the horse was 
 hopelessly disfigured. We might also say that to 
 crop the horse's ears was indirectly dangerous to 
 
246 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 man, because the mode of carrying the ears is one 
 of the tests whereby to judge a horse's temper. 
 
 All this is perfectly true. But it was equally 
 true in the days when cropping was in fashion, and 
 yet its truth had not the least effect on the advocates 
 of the custom. 
 
 This figure of the Cropped Horse is taken from 
 
 a 'cropped' horse. 
 
 a hunting print of the period in which cropping was 
 in fashion. 
 
 At the present day the ear is, happily for the 
 horse, allowed to retain its full dimensions, so that 
 the animal can direct it as he chooses, and be sensible, 
 as he ought to be, to the slightest sound. But, though 
 the groom may not cut the ear off, he cannot let it 
 alone. The inside of the ear is furnished with a 
 
BLINKERS. 247 
 
 supply of hairs so arranged that they exclude dust, 
 flies, and other extraneous objects, while they do 
 not interfere with the passage of sound. 
 
 Therefore, the presence of these hairs is an 
 abomination to the professional eye, and the groom, 
 if left to himself, will remove the hairs as far as 
 possible, sometimes cutting them off, and sometimes, 
 when he wants to be very professional, singeing 
 them down with a candle flame. Deafness is often 
 caused by this atrocious practice ; but that is nothing 
 to the groom as long as the horse is got up according 
 to the prevailing fashion. 
 
 If the reader will again turn to the horse 
 1 Fashion,' on p. 200, he will see that I have ventured 
 to add a pair of ear-stoppers to the blinkers, the 
 gag bearing-rein, the hogged mane, the cropped ears, 
 and the docked and nicked tail, all of which are, or 
 have been, considered necessary to the gratification 
 of the professional eye. 
 
 The real fact is, that blinkers are rather the 
 causes of fright than the preventives, and for this 
 reason. The temperament of the horse is most 
 peculiar, and especially as regards courage. To 
 judge him from one point of view, he seems an 
 arrant coward. To judge him from another, he is 
 one of the most courageous animals on the face of 
 the earth. You may see him scared by a feather 
 
248 HORSE AND MAX. 
 
 blown against his nose, or by the sound of a boy's 
 popgun, and would naturally consider him to be a 
 coward. 
 
 But the very animal that Avas frightened at a 
 feather, when properly taught will walk about un- 
 concernedly among locomotive engines, caring nought 
 for their puffings and snortings, and whistlings, and 
 ' blowing-off' of steam. 
 
 The very animal which ran away at the sound 
 of the popgun will, when properly trained, face a 
 square of infantry despite the glitter of the bayonets 
 and the flash and rattle of the musketry. He will 
 undauntedly charge a battery, and so from this 
 point of view he must be reckoned as exceptionally 
 courageous. 
 
 ' He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted ; 
 neither turneth he back from the sword. 
 
 ' The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering 
 spear and the shield. 
 
 ' He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and 
 rage ; neither believeth he that it is the sound of the 
 trumpet. 
 
 ' He saith among the trumpets, Ha, Ha ; and he 
 smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the, 
 captains and the shouting.' 
 
 This magnificent description is as true an 
 eulogium of the horse's courage as it was when 
 
CHARACTER OF THE HORSE. 249 
 
 penned by the unknown writer of the Book of Job, 
 at least three thousand years ago. 
 
 Like ourselves, the horse fears the unknown, or 
 rather the imperfectly known, and as soon as he 
 becomes familiar with the dreaded object, his fears 
 vanish. It was solely by acting on this temperament 
 that Earey was so successful in the management of 
 troublesome horses. He went on the principle that 
 the ' vices ' of the horse are almost wholly due to his 
 fears, which have not been understood by man. 
 
 Nothing could be simpler than Earey 's system, of 
 which I have often been an eye-witness. He would 
 take any object of terror, say a revolver, or a drum, 
 or an umbrella, and manage by degrees to make the 
 horse understand that it would not hurt him. 
 
 Then he acted on another characteristic of the 
 horse. 
 
 The animal is as inquisitive as a cat, so inquisi- 
 tive indeed, that no matter how much an unknown 
 object frightens him, he cannot keep himself away 
 from it. He will stand at a distance gazing at it 
 with outstretched neck, and sniffing as if the sense of 
 smell could tell him something about it. Perhaps a 
 new access of fright will take place and he will 
 gallop off, but in a short time is sure to come back 
 again, drawn as if by some magnetic attraction. 
 
 Thus he will go on, always drawing nearer and 
 
250 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 nearer until he is close to the dreaded object. Then 
 he will smell it, test it by rubbing it with his nose, 
 which is the tactile organ of the horse as the hand is 
 with us, and then, having satisfied his curiosity, will 
 trouble himself no more about the former object of 
 his fears. 
 
 The following short account of Earey's dealings 
 with a horse which was too much even for the Life 
 Guards, is taken from Mr. S. Sidney's c Book of the 
 Horse : ' — ' The commanding officer of one of the regi- 
 ments of Household Cavalry placed in Earey's hands 
 a cream-coloured stallion from Her Majesty's stud 
 that had resisted every effort of roughriders of the 
 regiment to make it carry the kettle-drums. 
 
 ' The horse was in the riding school. Earey 
 took one of the drums, placed it before the horse's 
 nose, and by degrees got him to smell it. Then he 
 gave it a slight tap with one of his fingers, on which 
 the horse started, but smelt it again. Eepeating this 
 operation again and again louder, and each time 
 with a drumstick, after a series of starts and smells 
 the horse began to find out that the drum did him 
 no harm. 
 
 ' The drum was then placed against his side and 
 the tapping process repeated. Finally, certainly 
 within less than an hour, Earey mounted his pupil 
 and marched him round the school, beating the 
 
THE DKUMMEH'S HORSE. 251 
 
 drum loudly. From that time forward the cream 
 stallion bore the gorgeously attired drummer, beat- 
 ing the silver kettle-drums, and pacing proudly at 
 the head of the regiment.' 
 
 I have several times seen him perform not only a 
 similar feat, which is a comparatively easy one, but in 
 less than half-an-hour teach a shying horse to allow 
 all the chambers of a revolver to be fired round his 
 head, a flag to be waved violently before his eyes, 
 and an umbrella to be opened suddenly in his face. 
 
 I fully believe that if the owner of a horse were 
 to begin driving it without blinkers, it would never 
 require them. But of course I admit that if a horse 
 which had always been driven in blinkers were to be 
 suddenly deprived of them, he might probably take 
 fright at the unaccustomed range of vision. This 
 feeling, however, would soon wear off, and then the 
 horse would not only have wider opportunities of 
 finding out the meaning of objects which would have 
 frightened him if half seen, but would look all the 
 better for not having his beautiful eyes concealed 
 behind the leathern flaps. 
 
 Still it would be quite possible to accustom the 
 horse to do without them. At first, they could be 
 spread out, so as to allow the animal a wider range 
 of vision. Then they could be gradually lessened in 
 size, and lastly removed altogether. 
 
252 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 People often say to me, ' We do not deny that 
 horses might do well enough without blinkers as 
 long as they keep to country roads, but if they are 
 driven in London, or any other populous city where 
 there is much traffic, they would be frightened at 
 the other vehicles, and especially at the whips of all 
 the drivers.' I suppose that Londoners think just 
 the same of the country, and that the horses would be 
 afraid of the trees and the wide expanse of country. 
 
 If people who owned horses blindfolded them 
 entirely before driving them, there might be some 
 sense in this idea ; but as even the tightest blinkered 
 horse can see in front, and can therefore see all the 
 whips which are likely to hit him, even this super- 
 ficial argument fails. Of course, when a country 
 horse is just brought to London, it is nervous and 
 alarmed at the unaccustomed sights and sounds, and 
 so is a London horse when taken into the country, 
 whether it be blinkered or not. The blinker has 
 nothing to do with the question. 
 
 In a letter addressed to the ' Animal World,' as 
 long ago as 1873, Mr. C. H. Tamplin, a London 
 surgeon, narrated his experiences with the ' blinkers : ' 
 
 6 Two years ago the idea occurred to me to try, 
 and if possible find out, the reputed use of blinkers. 
 Our coachman was ordered to come round without 
 them. He did so (bearing-reins we had renounced 
 
HALF VISION. 253 
 
 as instruments of torture long before), and the horses, 
 which had always been used to blinkers before, went 
 along beautifully, and evidently enjoying much more 
 comfort. In the afternoon we had another pair 
 harnessed in the same way, and the result was pre- 
 cisely similar. 
 
 ' To replace a horse which had died, another was 
 bought. He also behaved extremely well without 
 blinkers or bearing-reins. Two others in the country, 
 one a mare which used to shy and jib inveterately, 
 and the other, almost thoroughbred, went as quietly 
 as possible without blinkers, those appendages having 
 been removed from their harness. 
 
 'Much stranger still, a young Irish horse, five 
 years old, almost thoroughbred, had never been 
 driven in double harness before, and had never been 
 taken into any town in his life until he came to 
 London, where he was ridden for two weeks that he 
 might get used to the traffic. 
 
 ' At the end of that time our coachman, without 
 directions, put him into double harness with blinkers. 
 He went very well until a large dog ran across the 
 road before him, when he shied and nearly jumped 
 over the pole. He would probably have taken 
 to kicking had not some one rushed up to his head 
 and pulled the blinkers aside that he might see the dog, 
 when he became absolutely quiet. 
 
254 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ' The next day our coachman removed the blinkers, 
 and from that time he has behaved admirably amidst 
 the busy traffic of the streets, without evincing a 
 tendency to shy. 
 
 ' The inference I draw from this and other cases 
 is, that blinkers are totally unnecessary, and do more 
 harm than good. In passing other vehicles at cross- 
 ings and when turning, instead of going blindly on 
 at the risk of running against whatever may be near 
 them, horses without blinkers know what is wanted, 
 and so become much more easy to drive.' 
 
 The reader will probably have gathered from this 
 narrative the necessity for the master's eye as the 
 only check upon the perverse obstinacy of servants, 
 who will always revert to their accustomed ways 
 whenever they can find an opportunity. It cannot 
 be too often repeated that argument with a servant 
 is useless, and should never be used. 
 
 ' You may prove to your coachman and grooms 
 that scooping out the interior of the hoof is destruc- 
 tion to the horse ; that the bearing-rein causes horses 
 to fall, and that the blinkers induce them to shy. 
 Your reasoning will "go in at one ear and out of the 
 other," without producing the least impression on the 
 man's mind ; and, unless he knows that he is closely 
 watched, he will carry off the horse to the farrier's at 
 the first opportunity and have the frog and bars cut 
 
'THE SQUIRE.' 255 
 
 on" and the heel opened. He will replace the blinkers 
 and fasten the horse's head back with a bearing- 
 rein, thinking all the while that his master is 
 a fool, and that his own way is the only one for a 
 horse.' 
 
 The late Charles Waterton afforded a valuable 
 example of the value of the master's eye. 
 
 When he came into possession of Walton Hall, he 
 determined to give Nature a fair trial against long- 
 established customs. A keen preserver of game, he 
 would not allow his keepers to interfere with the 
 hawks, rooks, crows, magpies, starlings, stoats, weasels, 
 and other ' vermin.' He had to run counter to the 
 prejudices of every man on his estate, not to mention 
 all his neighbours, and soon found out that he must 
 never argue, but give his orders and see that they 
 were obeyed. Every one in his employ knew that 
 every part of his work would come under ' the 
 Squire's' eye in the course of twenty-four hours, but 
 when the master would make his appearance no one 
 knew, except that it was sure to be when he was least 
 expected. 
 
 One of his rules was, that after the day's work 
 the horses should not be tied up, but allowed 
 to walk about at liberty in the stable-yard. One 
 night he suddenly asked me if I would go into the 
 grounds with him. So he lighted a lantern, and we 
 
256 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 went over a large portion of the premises, finishing 
 with the stables. 
 
 In one of them a horse was tied up. Waterton 
 cut the halter into little bits, laid them on the floor, 
 and said nothing. About five next morning the 
 bailiff passed a very unpleasant quarter of an 
 hour. ' Please zur, I thowt,' began the bailiff. ' You 
 thowtl You thowt! Nobody thinks here but me,' 
 returned Waterton, and with a stern warning sent 
 him out of the room, not letting him say another 
 word. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to the ' Field ' 
 newspaper of June 20, 1877, put the bearing-rein 
 and blinker question in a very amusing but forcible 
 summary. 
 
 ' Sir, — I think there is a great deal of nonsense 
 written about this bearing-rein business. 
 
 ' The facts of the case seem to be as follows : 
 
 ' Horses are naturally very stupid animals ; they 
 can neither carry their heads nor their tails in a 
 proper manner, neither can they make a proper use 
 of their eyes, therefore it is necessary that they should 
 be taught the proper use of them. 
 
 ' Now a horse naturally wishes to see the ground 
 in order that he may not tread on anything likely to 
 make him tumble down. But we make our roads so 
 smooth that there is no necessity for his seeing them, 
 
MOKE HAPPY THOUGHTS. 257 
 
 so we very properly tie his head up to make him 
 look at the sky, which gives him a very elegant 
 appearance, especially when he gets used to it and 
 takes naturally to what is called " star-gazing." 
 
 ' But even then, he might look to the right or 
 left, and so see something or other which it is far 
 better for him not to see, therefore we half blind 
 him. This is a great point, for with his head tied 
 up, and his blinkers on, he cannot possibly see any- 
 thing but the sky, where there is nothing to see, and 
 consequently nothing to frighten him. 
 
 I Sometimes the brute is badly made, being small 
 in the chest, in which case the saddle, or whatever it 
 may be termed to which this bearing- rein is fastened, 
 is pulled forward by it, in which case it becomes 
 necessary to have a crupper to hold the saddle back, 
 and thus in a manner you tie his head and tail to- 
 gether, so that he cannot put down his head without 
 pulling up his tail. 
 
 ' I think the above letter gives ample reason for 
 the use of the bearing-rein and blinkers. 
 
 I I am so convinced that this is the right and 
 proper way to educate a horse, that I mean, when I 
 can afford it, to have a horse to ride ; and as I suspect 
 I shall not be a very accomplished horseman, I mean 
 to have a hook at the front of the saddle on which 
 to put a good tight bearing-rein — this is to keep him 
 
 s 
 
258 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 from running away with me. I shall also put on 
 blinkers, so that he can see neither to the right nor 
 left, and think that under these circumstances I shall 
 be tolerably safe.— C. F. W.' 
 
 There is only one argument which is in the 
 slightest degree in favour of the blinker. Among 
 horses and among mankind there are sure to be 
 some who have the strongest disinclination to do any 
 work that they can get any one else to do for them ; 
 and with them, as with us, this inclination becomes 
 stronger as they grow older and more artful. So, 
 when a pair are driven, one being a willing horse and 
 the other a slug, the latter will shirk his share of the 
 work, and leave it to his companion. 
 
 I saw just such a pair while I was in Boston, 
 Mass. They belonged to one of my friends, and as 
 we were driving, I asked him why he put blinkers 
 on his horses, and why those blinkers were quite 
 unlike the usual form. He said that he was as much 
 opposed to the blinker as myself, and would not 
 use it until compelled by the laziness and cunning of 
 one of the horses. 
 
 The animal could pull quite as well as his com- 
 panion, but he was a slug and a swindler. He always 
 contrived to keep his eye on his master, and as long 
 as he saw that he was watched, he did his fair share 
 of the work ; but, if the driver's attention were 
 
AN IMPOSTOR. 259 
 
 diverted in any way, the horse dropped back from 
 the collar, but used all the action of a pulling 
 horse, so as to deceive the driver. Consequently, 
 his comrade — a very willing horse — had his work 
 nearly doubled. 
 
 As soon as the impostor perceived signs of the 
 driver's renewed attention, he went forward into the 
 collar, and really pulled instead of making believe. 
 He did it so cleverly that several times, before the 
 trick was found out, the whip came on the wrong 
 horse. In order to counteract this tendency, his 
 owner had a special set of blinkers made. They are 
 scarcely half the size of the ordinary blinker, and 
 they stand out nearly at right angles from the head, 
 so that the horse can see everything in front or at 
 the sides, but not behind. 
 
 This simple arrangement completely checkmated 
 the horse. He tried his old ruse once or twice, but 
 always found himself reminded by the whip that he 
 must play no more tricks. For the sake of sym- 
 metry, both horses wore similar blinkers, and when 
 I saw them, it was impossible to tell which had been 
 the delinquent. 
 
 Under no circumstances, however, oucdit horses 
 to wear the large blinkers which are occasionally 
 seen. 
 
 Sometimes the front edges of these blinkers are 
 
 s 2 
 
260 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 drawn so closely together that there is only a narrow 
 strip of vision in front, and none on either side. 
 These close blinkers have two bad effects on the eye. 
 In the first place, they heat the eye-ball by prevent- 
 ing the free access of air to it ; and in the next, by 
 forcing the animal to keep its eyes always directed 
 forwards, they fatigue and strain the delicate muscles 
 by which the eye is moved. 
 
 In this place it is very tempting to describe the 
 structure of the horse's eye, but such a description 
 would be outside the province of this book, which 
 only deals with those structures of the animal which 
 ought to be understood by those who have the 
 charge of it. 
 
 Considering the manner in which the horse is 
 treated by man, I almost wonder that fashion did 
 not recommend the entire instead of the partial 
 blinding of the horse. Had fashion turned in that 
 direction, no question of humanity would have stood 
 in its way. Those who crop the ears of horses or 
 dogs, or who cut off their tails at the demand of 
 fashion, would have no scruple in going a step 
 farther, and putting out the horse's eyes. The 
 reader may think that I am going too far in making 
 such a statement, but I am simply stating the truth. 
 All who know anything of * fancy ' are familiar with 
 the fact that it is the custom to put out the eyes of 
 
* scaling' and tongue-slitting. 261 
 
 certain birds, because it is thought that their atten- 
 tion, being shut off from distraction by external 
 objects, would be concentrated in their song. Some 
 birds escape total blindness by being ' scaled.' A 
 red-hot knitting needle is held so close to the eye, 
 without actually touching it, that a white ' scale ' is 
 formed on the cornea, and prevents light from having 
 access to the eye until the scale is thrown off, and 
 the cornea restored by the reparative operations of 
 Nature. Many, however, if not most, are totally 
 blinded, the red-hot needle being pushed into the 
 pupil of the eye. This is no modern practice, as 
 is shown by one of the photos in Hogarth's ' Pro- 
 gress of Cruelty.' 
 
 The custom, which still lingers, of slitting the 
 tongue of a starling or magpie, in order to enable 
 it to speak, is scarcely less cruel. Oddly enough, 
 its gradual extinction has been owing, not to any 
 increase of humanity on the part of man, but to 
 the improvement of our coinage. 
 
 To slit the tongue with steel was thought to be 
 useless, and the only instrument which possessed the 
 requisite virtue was a ' silver sixpence.' Some of 
 my readers may be old enough to recollect the six- 
 pences which were current in my childhood — mere 
 irregular discs of metal, with scarcely a vestige of 
 obverse and reverse, and worn at the edges until 
 
262 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 they were as sharp as knife- blades. The doubly 
 thick ' milled ' edge of the modern coinage, how- 
 ever, has had the curious effect of saving from a 
 painful operation thousands of starlings, jackdaws, 
 and magpies. 
 
 When I was at school at Ashbourne, in Derby- 
 shire, I remember one old sixpence, which belonged 
 to a man of sporting propensities, and which was 
 kept sharp expressly for the purpose of cutting birds' 
 tongues. 
 
 Now, I maintain that the men who will burn 
 out the eyes of a bird to make it sing, or slit its 
 tongue to make it talk, or cut off the ears or tail 
 of a dog or a horse at the demand of fashion, would 
 not hesitate to go one step farther, and put out the 
 eyes of the horse if the prevailing fashion required 
 that it should be blinded. 
 
 Fortunately, fashion has not as yet gone so far, 
 and the groom may not destroy the eyes of the 
 horse. But, in order to be in the fashion, he does 
 go as far as he can towards injuring the eye. 
 
 In the first place, the eyelashes, which, of course, 
 are intended for a protection for the eye of the 
 horse as for that of man, offer a temptation which 
 the fashionable groom cannot resist, and he cuts 
 them off. The eyelashes will, however, grow again, 
 and the harm is but temporary. Far different, how- 
 
CUTTING THE * HAW.' 2G3 
 
 ever, is it with another structure connected with 
 the eye. 
 
 In common with many mammals, with birds, 
 frogs, and several other vertebrates, the horse is 
 furnished with a sort of third eyelid, or ' nictitating 
 membrane,' as it is scientifically termed. In the 
 horse and dog it goes by the popular name of the 
 ' haw.' Without closing the external eyelid, the 
 animal can draw the nictitating membrane over the 
 eye, so as to sweep off any dust or extraneous sub- 
 stance that might injure the eye. This movement 
 may be seen to perfection in the owl tribe. 
 
 It sometimes happens that this membrane becomes 
 inflamed, mostly, I believe, from the ammoniacal 
 vapour of ill- ventilated stables, and then it is apt 
 to protrude from the corner of the eye. The groom, 
 who naturally dislikes the red, unsightly projection, 
 never thinks of treating it as a case of subduable 
 inflammation, but cuts it off. From that time, the 
 membrane can never do its work rightly, and the 
 consequence too often is a partial or entire blinding 
 of the eye. 
 
264 HORSE AND MAfl. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The mane and the practice of 'hogging' -The tail and its office — What 
 man does to the tail — Docking — A puzzled J.P. — The professional 
 eye again — Docking and lock-jaw — Nicking — An unexpected ally — 
 ' Conducive to human safety ' — The tail and the crupper — Winter 
 and summer coats of the horse — Clipping and singeing — American 
 horses in winter — Fashion with man and horse — The groom's real 
 reason for clipping — Mayhew and Lupton's opinions of clipping — The 
 ' moulting ' of birds. 
 
 Having now seen some of the effects of the profes- 
 sional eye upon the head of the horse, we will pass 
 to its neck and spine. 
 
 The chief glory of the horse's neck is the Mane, 
 which ' clothes his neck with thunder.' It is 
 balanced by the full and flowing tail which adorns 
 the last vertebras of the spine, both of these orna- 
 ments being distinguishing marks between the horse 
 and the ass. It could not be expected that the 
 professional eye could miss such sj)lendid oppor- 
 tunities as are presented by the mane and tail, on 
 both of which man has laid his sacrilegious hands. 
 
 The Creator has made the mane full and flowing 
 to match the tail. Man, therefore, cuts it away until 
 
' HOGGING.' 
 
 265 
 
 only some two inches are left standing perpen- 
 dicularly, so as to make the neck of the horse look 
 as much as possible like that of the ass. 
 
 This custom of cutting the mane, or ' hogging ' it, 
 as this particular form of mutilation is called, was, as 
 far as I can discover, introduced in the early part of 
 the century, when a sham classical mania reigned 
 paramount in the fashionable world. Sporting men 
 
 HORSE WITH ' HOGK3ED ' MANE. 
 
 were called ' Corinthians,' horse races were dignified 
 by the name of ' Olympian Games,' and so forth. 
 Therefore, the horses had to look classical in order to 
 preserve consistency, and their manes were cut so as 
 to make them resemble the horses of antiquity. 
 
 Lately, I regret to say that the mutilation of the 
 mane has been revived, chiefly, I believe, by polo 
 players. 
 
266 
 
 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Except that ' hogging ' the mane . is a shameful 
 disfigurement of the horse, it does no harm. But 
 when man deals with the tail, a very different verdict 
 must be given. The tail, as the Creator made it, is 
 shown in the figure called ' Nature,' on p. 200. One 
 of its uses is obviously to act as a whisk, and drive 
 away the flies which irritate the sensitive skin of the 
 animal, especially in hot weather ; and that it is an 
 
 ornamental appendage, without 
 which the form of the horse 
 would be incomplete, is evident 
 to any but the professional eye. 
 Some years ago, while en- 
 gaged in making out the heads 
 of this work, I gathered to- 
 gether some notes under the 
 title of 'Exploded Fashions.' 
 Those which refer to the tail 
 are as follows : ' Bang-tail, cock-tail, dock-tail, nick- 
 tail.' With the greatest regret I have seen these 
 exploded fashions creeping slowly but surely back 
 again. The tail, which some years ago was allowed 
 to preserve its natural and beautiful form, has been 
 gradually shortened. 
 
 The result comes from the rivalry of grooms and 
 coachmen. While driving, especially in places of 
 fashionable resort, they naturally inspect the horses 
 
 TAIL DOCKED AND 
 NICKED. 
 
PROFESSIONAL RIVALRY. 267 
 
 belonging to the carriages which they meet. Mr. 
 Brown's coachman sees that Lord Kennaquh air's 
 horses have had their tails cut short, so nothing 
 will serve him but to cut his own horses' tails still 
 shorter. 
 
 If this rivalry in tail-cutting extended only to the 
 hair it would do no very great harm. It would 
 spoil the appearance of the horse, but would not 
 inflict pain or affect health, and the hair, if allowed 
 to grow without hindrance, would, in process of 
 time, resume its natural appearance. 
 
 But this tail-cutting mania goes farther, and not 
 only the hair, but the tail on which it grew is cut off, 
 several of the last vertebras being amputated. The 
 pain caused by this operation is very great, but, as 
 we shall see, the torture is not all. How painful the 
 operation is, is shown in the following letter : — 
 
 'is docking horses' tails cruel in a legal sense? 
 
 1 To the Editor of the " Daily Neivs" 
 
 ' Sir, — I am a country magistrate, who is anxious 
 to obtain an opinion founded on the judgment of my 
 brother magistrates throughout the country generally 
 on the subject of this letter. My personal dislike of 
 anything should not make me give a decision which 
 could not be maintained if appealed against. 
 
268 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 ' I am fifty-seven years old, and from boyhood in 
 the hunting-field, on the race-course, and in a cavalry 
 regiment, I have had horses as my friends and 
 servants, and I have no hesitation in deciding the 
 practice of docking to be unnecessary and cruel. 
 Unfortunately it is a common custom, and to be con- 
 sistent, thousands should be summoned, and not, as 
 now, only one occasionally. I think it is shown to be 
 unnecessary for safety in driving, because when a few 
 years ago it was not the fashion to dock horses' tails, 
 carriage accidents were not more frequent than 
 now. 
 
 ' That it is cruel I have no doubt. Providence 
 gave the horse a tail for good reasons, as any one 
 who has watched a colt at grass can see. The 
 absence of it when flies are troublesome causes 
 absolute misery. It will also be remarked that those 
 parts over which the tail naturally falls have little 
 or no hair, and therefore need its protection. 
 
 'What does docking mean? It is taking off 
 several joints of the tail, and then searing the bleeding 
 stumps with a hot iron. Can any man imagine this 
 torture applied to his finger, rendering it for ever 
 less useful than Nature intended, and deliberately 
 approve of its being inflicted on a helpless animal to 
 gratify a passing fashion ? 
 
 ' I am informed that at Carmarthen a conviction 
 
' DOCKING.' 269 
 
 was recently obtained and a fine inflicted for docking 
 a tail under circumstances of great cruelty, the 
 operation taking nearly half an hour in all, and the 
 irons having to be heated three times before the 
 bleeding could be stanched. Was not that revolting 
 barbarity ? and who is to say that such cases do not 
 frequently occur, and that in a greater or less degree 
 they must occur so long as the custom prevails ? 
 
 ' I am informed — all credit to the humane person 
 who so ordered — that by a recent regulation re- 
 mounts for the cavalry are rejected if thus maimed. 
 Might not this principle be extended, and all docking 
 (except in case of disease or deformity) be considered 
 to come under the term of cruelty in a legal sense, 
 and therefore punishable by law ? I am anxious to 
 do what is right, and remain, Sir, your obedient 
 
 servant, 
 
 * A Puzzled J.P. 
 
 1 February 2, 1884.' 
 
 The regulation to which the puzzled J.P. refers 
 has recently been repeated, September 12, 1884, and 
 is as follows : — 
 
 * DOCKING HORSES. 
 
 'As it has been brought to notice that in the 
 mounted service the regulations in regard to the 
 length of horses' tails are not observed, and as horses 
 
270 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 with short tails are practically unfit for service in the 
 field where flies are troublesome, the following addi- 
 tion has been made to Par. 5, Sect. 11 : — "Queen's 
 Eegulations and Orders of the Army. General 
 officers, when making their inspection of mounted 
 corps, will ascertain whether these instructions are 
 strictly followed, and they will specially report every 
 instance in which they are disregarded that comes 
 under their notice. Horses with short docks are not 
 to be purchased as remounts." ' 
 
 The very forcible statements of the 'Puzzled 
 J.P.' were supplemented by a letter from Mrs. H. 
 McHquham, of Staverton House, near Cheltenham, 
 dated February 4, 1884 : — 
 
 'I am sorry to be able to add to the horrors con- 
 tained in a "Puzzled J.P.'s" letter by saying that 
 the terrible operation of docking the tails of horses is 
 sometimes followed by lock-jaw. I was recently told 
 of three such cases occurring- in two stables. 
 
 'When lock-jaw occurs, it is usual to sling the 
 poor animals, to prevent them from ending their 
 sufferings by dashing their heads against their 
 mangers. This wretched ending occurred in one of 
 the three cases I have spoken of. The whinnying of 
 the poor creature was touching to hear, and its 
 sufferings will prevent a repetition of a similar bar- 
 barity in its owner's stables.' 
 
LOCK-JAW. 271 
 
 It is really wonderful how the ever-changing 
 fashion of the day perverts the judgment and blunts 
 the feelings. 
 
 There is now before me a letter from a gentleman 
 who is a great breeder of hunters. He acknowledges 
 that he has himself lost two horses from lockjaw 
 produced by docking, and that he knows of other 
 cases. Yet he declares in favour of the operation, 
 because in his opinion ' it improves the horses very 
 much ! ' 
 
 Again I say, as I did with regard to the gag 
 bearing rein, that even if the operation of docking 
 did improve the appearance of the horse instead of 
 disfiguring it, as is really the case, we have no right 
 to inflict such torture on an animal merely to gratify 
 our eyes. 
 
 There is even less excuse for docking than for 
 the bearing-rein, for at all events the advocates of 
 the latter do really think that it holds up a stumbling 
 horse and prevents him from running away, besides" 
 ' improving ' his appearance, whereas no such argu- 
 ment can be urged in favour of docking. 
 
 The Eoyal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
 to Animals ought to be empowered to proceed 
 against any one who was guilty of this abominable 
 practice, and ought to carry out the law in the most 
 rigid form, without the least respect of persons. 
 
272 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 If the managing body of the Eoyal Society for the 
 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be afraid to 
 proceed in such cases because some of the delinquents 
 belong to the Society, and their subscriptions would 
 be lost, I can only say that the Society would not be 
 doing the work which it professes to do. It ought to 
 proceed against Lord Kennaquhair for having the 
 tails of his horses docked, or for using the gag-rein, 
 as fearlessly as against the butcher's lad for beating 
 his horse about the head with his meat-tray. 
 
 Are we to revert to the practice of ' nicking ' the 
 tail? Perhaps the reader may not know what 
 ' nicking ' signifies. Indeed, I find that very few 
 people have the least idea that ' docking ' means 
 anything more than cutting the hair too closely, and 
 can scarcely believe me when I tell them that the 
 very specious word ' docking ' signifies the amputa- 
 tion of several vertebras of the tail, and the searing 
 of the raw and bleeding stump with red-hot irons. 
 
 There is only one abomination which has not as 
 yet revived, and that is, the operation called ' nicking,' 
 which was in practice some sixty years ago. 
 
 As might be expected, the demands of the pro- 
 fessional eye became more and more exacting. Even 
 the docked tail was not sufficiently distorted from 
 Nature's model to satisfy that eye, which required 
 that the tail should as far as possible resemble a 
 
< XT 
 
 NICKING. 
 
 273 
 
 half-opened fan in shape, and that instead of hanging 
 down, as Nature intended, it should be stuck up per- 
 pendicularly. 
 
 So, after several vertebras had been cut off, and 
 the stump seared according to custom, the remaining 
 vertebras were cut partially through on the under 
 
 ' NICKING ' THE TAIL. 
 
 side. This was for the purpose of severing the rather 
 powerful tendon which pulls the tail down. Lest 
 the wounds should be healed in the ordinary manner, 
 and so give the animal a chance of lowering its tail, 
 a piece of machinery was invented and used as seen 
 in the illustration. 
 
274 HOUSE AND MAN. 
 
 The tail being tied up as here shown, it remained 
 nearly perpendicular whether the horse stood or lay 
 down. 
 
 Any of my readers who have ever suffered from 
 a cut finger may form some idea of the agony which 
 the horse must have endured while these wounds 
 were being healed. The natural tendency of a 
 wound is to contract in course of healing, and even 
 during that natural process a considerable amount 
 of pain is suffered. What it must be when the 
 mouths of a series of wounds are kept mechanically 
 torn apart we can scarcely imagine. 
 
 Some years ago, in the course of a lecture de- 
 livered at Cheltenham, I described this process, and 
 illustrated the description by sketches on my black 
 canvas. There were some very decided expressions 
 of natural incredulity among the audience, several 
 persons being unable to believe that such cruelty 
 could have existed, and thinking that I had been 
 imposed upon. 
 
 After the lecture was finished, a venerable, white- 
 haired and white bearded gentleman came on the 
 platform and asked leave to say a few words. He 
 was evidently well known, as his appearance was 
 greeted with loud applause. He said that he had 
 heard some persons expressing disbelief, but stated 
 that when he was a boy he had seen the operation 
 
HUMAN SAFETY. 275 
 
 of ' nicking ' performed, and that both the description 
 and sketches were perfectly correct. 
 
 I then found that he was Mr. Samuel Bowley, so 
 well known as an advocate of teetotalism. 
 
 The illustration is taken from a plate in an old 
 work on horse management. In the plate several 
 horses are represented, so as to show the different 
 stages of the process. 
 
 The reader could hardly imagine that anyone at 
 the present day could have the hardihood to give 
 any reason, except the following of fashion, for 
 docking horses. Yet, in July of this present year 
 (1884), a council of veterinary surgeons voted 
 unanimously that the docking of horses' tails was con- 
 ducive to human safety, and therefore ought to be 
 adopted I 
 
 1 Conducive to human safety,' forsooth ! 
 
 What connection can there be between human 
 safety and the length of a horse's tail ? 
 
 Certainly the connection is not very easy to 
 trace, and the train of reasoning is rather circuitous. 
 However, here it is. 
 
 Supposing that you were driving a long-tailed 
 horse, and that you were a careless handler of the 
 reins, and let them hang too low, the horse might 
 whisk its tail over the rein so as to take it out of 
 your command, and then it might be frightened, and 
 
 t 2 
 
276 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 then might run away, and then might upset the 
 carriage, and then you might be killed. 
 
 Even if all this long series of misfortunes did 
 occur, the fault would surely he with the careless 
 driver. The ' Puzzled J.P.' is perfectly right when 
 he says that carriage accidents were not more fre- 
 quent when the horses w T ore their tails of their 
 natural length than is the case at the present time. 
 
 Another ' reason ' is, that the full and flowing 
 tail is not easily put through the crupper. In fact, 
 to the professional eye the tail is nothing but a con- 
 venient peg on which the crupper may be hung. 
 So, to carry out these ideas logically, the rat-tailed 
 horse is your only animal. There is no troublesome 
 hair to get in the way, and by cutting off the vertebras 
 to suit your individual taste, you can make the 
 crupper peg of any length that you please. Were 
 it not for the crupper, the simplest plan would be to 
 cut off the tail altogether, but that appendage was 
 so evidently created for a crupper-peg, that enough 
 of it must be left to serve its obvious purpose. 
 
 I very much wonder that the nicked and stuck- 
 up tail was not voted to be ' conducive to human 
 safety.' The process of reasoning would be very 
 similar, and quite as sound. 
 
 A bad rider might mount a horse with a natural 
 tail, and the horse might rear, and the rider would 
 
clipping. 277 
 
 slip off over the tail and fall, and might be trodden 
 upon and killed. But if the tail were nicked and 
 stuck up, the rider would be caught upon it, and 
 then he could hold on by the saddle as long as the 
 horse reared, and regain his seat when the animal 
 came on all fours again. 
 
 Having caused as much harm as possible to the 
 foot and the mouth, and the eye and the neck, and 
 the spine and the tail, the professional eye casts its 
 baleful glance upon the Body, and demands that it 
 shall be deprived of its natural covering just when it 
 most needs protection. 
 
 The horse, like many other animals, has two 
 sets of clothes : a cool and light suit for the summer, 
 and a warm and heavy coat for the winter. 
 
 In the course of nature these clothes are re- 
 gularly exchanged, and the horse puts on his long- 
 haired winter dress before the cold weather comes 
 on. But, unfortunately for the horse, the long, 
 natural winter coat is to the professional eye as great 
 an abomination as the long natural mane and tail, 
 and so, either by clipping or singeing, the warm 
 winter coat is cut as short as that which is intended 
 only for summer wear. 
 
 Here, then, is another of the many ingenious 
 devices by which man does his best to shorten the 
 
278 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 life of the horse. The animal, whose skin is sin- 
 gularly sensitive, and given to perspiration, is taken 
 on a cold winter's day out of a warm stable, in 
 which all the pores are kept open, and brought into 
 a frosty temperature, which is often aggravated by 
 a sharp wind. Only one result is likely to take 
 place, and mostly does take place. The perspiration 
 is checked, thrown back upon the system, and the 
 horse takes a cold, which, unless promptly treated, will 
 develop into pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs. 
 
 In America, horse owners are wiser than we are. 
 They have a complete set of waterproof clothing for 
 each horse, even covering the ears, and these coverings 
 are made in several portions, are ventilated, and shelter 
 the horse completely from the cold air. There are 
 apertures through which the shafts and reins pass, 
 but even these are guarded with waterproof flaps. 
 
 In this country, however, we are less thoughtful, 
 and many a fine horse is lost through the want 
 of a little forethought. 
 
 As we have already seen, ' reasons ' are plentiful 
 enough when any outrage on Nature is committed, 
 no matter whether the subject be ourselves, or 
 the animal of which we have the control. All kinds 
 of ' reasons ' have been proffered when man acts in 
 contravention of Nature. 
 
 Shaving, for example, has its advocates; its 
 
SHAVING. 279 
 
 object being to make the masculine face as effeminate 
 as possible. Our immediate ancestors, say of the 
 reign of George II., were more logical than our- 
 selves, and not only shaved the face, but the entire 
 head, substituting an artificial covering of horsehair 
 or goat's hair, called a peruke, for the natural cover- 
 ing which they removed. 
 
 The ancient Egyptians were still more logical, for 
 they shaved the whole body daily, from the crown of 
 the head to the sole of the foot. In like spirit we 
 cut away the natural protection of the horse's hoof, 
 and substitute an artificial protection of iron. 
 
 Many of my readers can remember the time 
 when the British soldier was obliged to buckle round 
 his neck a stiff leathern stock, so that he could 
 hardly breathe, and men were constantly struck 
 down in the ranks with incipient apoplexy. No 
 sooner did common sense urge the abolition of the 
 stock than the old officers arose in their wrath, and 
 eulogised the leather stock to the skies. 
 
 It saved the soldier from a sword-stroke should 
 he happen to be in personal conflict with a dragoon, 
 and the dragoon should happen to strike his neck, 
 and the blow should happen not to be parried. It 
 saved the soldier the trouble of holding his head up, 
 because the stock did it for him. In point of fact, 
 the professional eye was accustomed to the stock, 
 
280 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 and could not recognise a man as a soldier unless 
 he wore it. 
 
 As for feminine humanity, words fail to express 
 the countless methods by which women have done 
 their best to cripple themselves for life, and the extra- 
 ordinary ingenuity of the excuses — ' reasons ' they 
 term them — with which they defend tight corsets. 
 I have seen one which was made entirely of steel, 
 like a cuirass, and which opened at one side with 
 hinges. Tight boots, with high pegs under the 
 centre of the foot instead of heels ; hoops in the 
 days of George II., crinolines in the time of Victoria, 
 poisonous metallic paints covering the face, neck, 
 and arms, and a hundred other absurdities, all had 
 their advocates and their ' reasons.' 
 
 Among the reasons which the groom urges in 
 favour of clipping, and which his master accepts as 
 true, is that it is impossible to keep his horse dry 
 if it be allowed to retain its winter coat, and that it 
 is almost impossible to clean the horse from mud 
 after he has been out on a wet day. 
 
 Here unwittingly the groom betrays the real 
 reason of his advocacy of clipping. He is saved 
 trouble by it, no one denying that it is easier to 
 clean a short-haired than a long-haired animal. 
 
 The wetness of which the groom complains is 
 simply the result of imperfect ventilation in the 
 
GROOMS AND OWNERS. 2 SI 
 
 stable. Now, the uneducated classes are, as a rule, 
 absolutely ignorant of the value of ventilation in 
 their own houses, and therefore can hardly be ex- 
 pected to trouble themselves about a constant supply 
 of fresh air in the stable. 
 
 In order to obtain enough air for its enormous 
 lungs, the horse is obliged to breathe rapidly. Then 
 the skin comes to the rescue of the lungs, the func- 
 tions of the skin and lungs being co-ordinate, and a 
 copious perspiration is the result, no matter what 
 the length of the hair may be. But, in the morning, 
 the groom finds that to clean and dry the long-haired 
 horse is a tedious business, and so he induces his 
 employer to have the horse clipped or singed. So 
 universal is this custom that as a rule the owners of 
 horses would as soon have their hoofs unshod as 
 their coats undipped. 
 
 Another ' reason ' which grooms advance for 
 clipping is, that the horse moves much more freely 
 after than before the operation, because it is relieved 
 of the weight of superfluous hair. Mayhew (p. 235), 
 with all the caution of a man of science, does not 
 actually deny that such an effect may be produced 
 by clipping, but he very emphatically says that he 
 never saw it. 
 
 Indeed, if the hair which is removed by clipping 
 were put into the scales, its weight would prove to 
 
282 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 be very trifling, and certainly insufficient to make 
 any perceptible difference in ease of movement. 
 Moreover, the hair so removed was distributed over 
 the whole body and limbs, and not hung in any spot 
 where it might cause hindrance to action. 
 
 Yet another ' reason ' is advanced by grooms. 
 ' We are obliged to have our hair cut regularly, and 
 so ought the horse.' But the hair of man, like that 
 of the mane and tail, is permanent, and not deciduous, 
 and so the argument is beside the point at issue. If 
 we were gifted with summer and winter heads of 
 hair, there might be some force in it, but, as the 
 reader will easily perceive, the two cases are not 
 parallel. Moreover, women, as a rule, wear their 
 hair long. 
 
 Mayhew concludes his long and elaborate indict- 
 ment against the practice with the following words 
 of warning : — 
 
 ' The advent of the summer coat is delayed, and 
 the system seems to suffer greatly during the subse- 
 quent period of changing the coat. The pace flags, 
 the spirits fail, and the quadruped becomes more 
 susceptible to disease at a time of year when equine 
 diseases are commonly more general and more 
 virulent. 
 
 ' The master who makes the welfare of his horse 
 subservient to the idle prejudices of his groom, is 
 fitly punished in the lengthened period of his animal's 
 
MAYHEW OX CLIPPING. 283 
 
 compulsory idleness, appropriately finished by the 
 payment of a long bill to the veterinary surgeon.' 
 
 Here I must call attention to another point. T 
 have already mentioned the cautious manner in 
 which Mayhew, as a man of science, writes when he 
 treats of a subject which is outside his peculiar 
 province. This very caution gives additional weight 
 to the absolute decision with which he writes when 
 on his own ground. As to the question about freedom 
 of movement being the result of clipping, no matter 
 how absurd such a statement may seem, he writes 
 as follows : — ' This may be the fact, although the 
 author has hitherto seen no such marked change 
 follow the operation as will allow him to deliberately 
 corroborate the general assertion.' 
 
 But when he treats of the evils which clipping 
 inflicts upon the horse, he uses no such caution, but 
 employs the most direct and positive language : — 
 
 ' Horses which have been clipped or singed are 
 (not may be) rendered more susceptible to many 
 terrible disorders. Any internal organ may be 
 acutely attacked, because the perspiration has by 
 exposure of the skin been thrown back upon the 
 system. Numerous hunters (which animals are 
 always clipped) fail (not may fail) at the beginning 
 of the season from this cause.' 
 
 This is the voice of one who speaks as having 
 authority. 
 
284 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 Clipping is quite a modern invention, and was in- 
 troduced into this country from the Continent about 
 1825, our officers having become acquainted with it 
 during the Peninsular War. 
 
 It has been said by some writers on the subject, 
 that although they are entirely opposed to clipping, 
 and would never allow a horse to be clipped if they 
 had been in charge of it from the first, yet, if a horse 
 be once clipped, it is impossible to discontinue the 
 practice, as the coat will become rough and staring. 
 
 I confess that I cannot agree with this axiom, 
 nor understand the theory on which it is based. The 
 coat of the horse is changed in accordance with 
 the season of the year, and no matter what may 
 be the ill-treatment of the coat of one year, it cannot 
 affect that of the next year. 
 
 Some thirty years ago, when common sense began 
 to prevail over conventionality, and men began to 
 ask themselves whether their Creator made their 
 beards for the purpose of having them cut off daily, 
 a similar reason was urged against the abandonment 
 of the razor. It was all very well for youths who 
 never had shaved, as their moustaches and beards 
 would possess a most becoming gloss and silkiness. 
 But, when once the razor had cut off the original 
 hairs, the after growth would be coarse and stubbly. 
 
 This was a very plausible argument, and, until 
 
THE BEARD OF MAN. 285 
 
 examined, seemed to be carried out by facts. It was 
 true that the first growth of a beard is soft and silky. 
 It was equally true that when a man's beard is of two 
 or three days' growth after shaving, it is coarse and 
 harsh, and if the beard be a dark and stiff one, looks 
 very much like a ragged blacking brush. But, when 
 the beard has grown to the length which it would have 
 attained if its wearer had never shaved, it will be just 
 as soft and silky as if it ' never had known the barber's 
 shears.' 
 
 If this be the case with the permanent hairs of 
 the human beard, which are analogous to those of 
 the horse's mane, much more so must it hold good 
 with the deciduous hairs of the horse's body. We 
 find exactly the same in birds, the perfection of whose 
 plumage after moulting is not in the least marred by 
 injuries done to the feathers before the moult. 
 
 Boys who for the first time own a magpie or a 
 jackdaw, generally discover this fact by experience. 
 As soon as they obtain possession of their bird they 
 clip its wings, and are under the impression that they 
 have prevented it from flying during the remainder 
 of its life. But, unless the boy has managed, as he 
 ought to do, to attach his bird to himself so thoroughly 
 that it does not wish to leave him, he will find that 
 after the moult is complete, the bird regains the 
 whole of his plumage, and can fly as well as ever. 
 
286 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 A younger brother of mine fell a victim to his 
 ignorance of this part of natural history. 
 
 When a boy, he became the happy possessor of 
 a jackdaw, and, having heard that the wings of birds 
 ought to be clipped, he proceeded to clip them, 
 carrying out the work most conscientiously. He cut 
 off the feathers of both wings close to the liinb, and 
 the tail close to the body, beside snipping away here 
 and there feathers which looked too obtrusive, and 
 was as satisfied with his work as is a farrier after 
 scooping out a hoof. 
 
 Soon afterwards came the moulting season, when, 
 as a matter of course, the bird regained its plumage, 
 and flew away. 
 
 All the cutting and clipping to which the feathers 
 had been subjected had no effect upon the next suit 
 of feathers, and neither does clipping have any effect 
 on the next set of hairs. I lay some stress on this 
 fact because many persons have been dissuaded from 
 the abandonment of clipping because they have been 
 told that if the practice be once began, it cannot be 
 relinquished without making the coat rough and 
 staring. Similarly, many persons who have been 
 accustomed to shave are afraid to abandon the razor, 
 because they have been told that their beards will 
 be coarse, dry, and rough. 
 
287 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 The lungs of the horse and their comparative size — Their shape and 
 position — Their demand for air — Defective stables — Ventilation — A 
 ehining coat — The stomach of the horse and its small size — Comparison 
 with the stomach of the ox — Mistakes in feeding — Result of overload- 
 ing the stomach — Experience of a veterinary surgeon — Water, when 
 to give, and how much — Traditions of trainers — A Turkish custom — 
 Purity of water and water vessels — Sloping floors and their evils — 
 The locomotive and the horse again — A sloping couch — The manger 
 and drinking trough — Structure of the head aud throat — The stable 
 door — Width of stalls — ' Weaving ' and crib-biting — The electric 
 manger. 
 
 In the last chapter I had occasion to mention the 
 ill-ventilation which is the rule in most stables. This 
 brings us to another and most important point in the 
 management of the horse. In this work I have been 
 careful not to trouble the reader with needless 
 anatomical details, and have only given those which 
 bear directly upon the relationship between man aid 
 the horse. Putting aside the heart, which is less 
 liable than any of the internal organs to be injured 
 by man's mismanagement, we find two internal organs 
 of equal importance — namely, the lungs and the 
 stomach. Supposing we were to split a horse longi- 
 
288 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 tudinally, there are very few persons who would not 
 be surprised at the enormous dimensions of the lungs 
 and the very small size of the stomach. 
 
 Supposing a water-melon to represent the lungs, 
 an orange would represent the stomach. Or suppos- 
 ing that we take the word ' Do,' the capital letter 
 would in size and shape represent the lungs, and the 
 small ' o ' would equally correspond to the stomach. 
 Then it must be remembered that the lun^s are double 
 organs, while the stomach is single, so that the dis- 
 crepancy in their comparative sizes is enhanced. 
 
 Both these organs are mismanaged by man, but in 
 opposite ways, one having its necessary supplies cut 
 short, and the other being supplied with more nou- 
 rishment than it can assimilate at the time. 
 
 First we will take the Lungs. 
 
 If we examine the size of the lungs when compared 
 with the body of any mammal, we shall find that the 
 larger the lung, the higher is the vitality, and, in con- 
 sequence, the more air has to be consumed. 
 
 Now, in the horse, the lungs are simply enormous. 
 Their outline very much resembles that of the capital 
 letter D, except that the upper corner requires to be 
 lengthened upwards to the right. Perhaps a better 
 idea of the outline may be obtained from the national 
 harp as shown on the Irish shield of the present florin. 
 This harp must be large enough to reach beyond the 
 
LUNGS OF THE HORSE. 289 
 
 withers backwards, then extend diagonally to the 
 elbow, and then upwards to the junction of the neck 
 with the breast. 
 
 Let the reader turn to the skeleton on page 3, 
 and then draw a line from the top of the rib just 
 below c, and continue it diagonally to I. This line 
 will represent the ' sound-board ' of the harp, the 
 * pillar ' occupying the front of the chest, and the 
 ' neck ' running under the spine. Nearly the whole 
 of the cavity of the ribs in front of the ' sound-board ' 
 is filled with the lungs. 
 
 So enormous a structure indicates that the supply 
 of fresh air ought to be correspondingly great, and 
 that there shall be means of escape for the air which 
 has been breathed, and in consequence is not only 
 useless for respiration but absolutely poisonous. 
 
 Yet, in how few stables do we find even an approach 
 to systematic ventilation? The reason is evident 
 enough. In the first place, a stable is considered so 
 simple an edifice that any one can build it. Ac- 
 cordingly we find that, as a rule, the architecture 
 of a stable is about on a par with that of a house 
 which a child builds with his box of wooden 
 bricks. 
 
 The typical stable is an oblong box of bricks, 
 divided into two storeys, the upper being used as a 
 hay-loft, and connected with the stable by a ladder 
 
 u 
 
290 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 and a trap-door. At the end is the door, and on one 
 side is a little window. Opposite the door is the 
 manger, and above the manger is an open rack, into 
 which hay can be pushed from above. 
 
 The floor slopes from the manger so as to carry 
 off moisture into a gutter which runs at right angles 
 with it, and then the builder thinks that he has pro- 
 duced everything that a horse ought to require. In 
 point of fact, however, if he had deliberately set him- 
 self to undermine the horse's health, he could not 
 have been more successful. 
 
 But no one expects that the builder of a stable 
 is likely to know anything of the structure of a 
 horse, or, if he did, to depart from the rules of 
 custom. 
 
 The builder has no idea of the true functions of 
 respiration, or of the poisonous character of air that 
 has been once breathed. So he makes no provision for 
 the admission of fresh atmosphere nor for the escape 
 of foul air. He neither knows nor cares that the air 
 which has been breathed, additionally laden with the 
 pungent ammoniacal vapour that fills an unventilated 
 stable, passes through the hay in the rack and thence 
 into the hay in the loft, infecting them both. 
 
 It is nothing to him that lungs were not intended 
 to breathe effete air or the vapour of ammonia. It 
 is nothing to him that the small size of the windows 
 
STABLES. 291 
 
 keeps the horse in semi-darkness, so that he is half 
 blinded when he goes into it on a bright day, and 
 quite dazzled when he comes out. It is nothing to 
 him that the sloping floor is a perpetual strain upon 
 the muscles of the legs during the time when they 
 ou"ht to be at rest. He has built his stable as stables 
 always have been built, and the creature which is to 
 inhabit it has nothing to do with him. 
 
 One of the chief difficulties with which an owner 
 of horses has to contend when he desires ventilation 
 is, that the groom, as a rule, dislikes ventilation, and 
 cannot distinguish between fresh air and a draught. 
 One of the evils of imperfect ventilation has already 
 been mentioned in connection with the custom of 
 clipping. 
 
 The groom will tell you that a * warm ' — i.e. a close 
 — stable makes a horse's coat shine like satin. So it 
 does ; but as it mostly kills the horse, the benefit is 
 rather doubtful, and reminds one of Charles Lamb's 
 Chinaman, who burned down his house whenever he 
 wanted to roast a pig. 
 
 It would be better for the horse to live, as the 
 North American pony lives, in a far severer climate 
 than ours, never to be housed and never to be groomed, 
 than to pass more than half its time in such a pesti- 
 lential atmosphere as that of an ordinary stable when 
 managed by an ordinary groom. 
 
 TJ 2 
 
292 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 After glancing at the lungs, we come to the 
 Stomach. 
 
 In proportion to the size and weight of the 
 animal, the dimensions of the stomach are wonder- 
 fully small, the combination of large lungs and small 
 stomach showing that the animal is intended for 
 speed as well as strength. 
 
 I am quite sure that not one groom in a hundred 
 (or say a thousand) has the faintest idea of the differ- 
 ence in size and structure between the stomach of 
 a horse and that of an ox, or that the mode of feed- 
 ing is essentially different. Yet there are plenty of 
 horses and oxen feeding in pasture lands which can 
 be seen by any one who has the use of eyes. 
 
 The ox, having no teeth in the front of the 
 upper jaw, simply squeezes a tuft of grass between 
 the lower incisor teeth and the hard pad which 
 takes their place in the upper jaw, and with a sort 
 of jerk tears off the herbage — ' licks up the grass,' 
 according to the Scriptural phrase. The tuft of 
 grass thus torn away is roughly bitten into a sort 
 of ball, and passed into the curious set of chambers 
 into which the stomach is divided. When the animal 
 has obtained a sufficient supply of grass for a meal, 
 it lies down, and returns the food by degrees into the 
 mouth, and then masticates it. 
 
 But the horse, with his single and small stomach, 
 
STOMACH OF THE HORSE 293 
 
 feeds on a different plan. It is always on the move, 
 selecting and nipping the grass blades as it walks 
 along, and masticating the food before it swallows 
 it. Thus, the ox feeds while still and recumbent, 
 while the horse always eats while moving, and never 
 while recumbent. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that the horse ought to 
 be fed frequently, and not in very great quantities 
 at each meal. The groom, not being aware of this 
 fact, is too apt to cut oft the supply of food before 
 a journey, in order to make the horse ' travel light.' 
 Then, after the journey, wishing to be kind to the 
 horse, he gives it a double feed by way of reward. 
 
 The natural consequence is, that the animal, 
 ravenous with hunger, eats too rapidly, overloads 
 its stomach, and suffers accordingly. Even human 
 beings, in spite of knowing better, will do the same 
 unless restrained by others, and we cannot expect a 
 horse to be wiser than a man. Cases are not un- 
 known where the coats of the stomach have given 
 way, and the horse has died in consequence of the 
 injury. 
 
 Sometimes, especially in agricultural districts, a 
 peculiar disease is produced by overloading the 
 stomach, and generally makes its appearance on 
 Monday morning. 
 
 Both the horse and the labourer who is in charge 
 
294 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 of it are at work in the field for twelve or fifteen 
 hours daily throughout the week. The man is natu- 
 rally so wearied with the day's toil, that after the 
 work is over he is fit for nothing but to take his 
 supper and go to bed, where he instantly falls asleep, 
 and does not awake until it is time for his next day's 
 labour to commence. Even on Sundays he has to 
 look after his horses, so that he does not even get 
 the one day's rest in seven to which he is entitled. 
 
 So it often happens that the man, not knowing 
 the distinction between the structure of the horse 
 and that of himself, supplies the animal on Saturday 
 night with enough food and water to last until 
 Monday morning, and then has the Sunday to him- 
 self. On the Monday, when he goes to the stable, 
 he finds the horse with one of its legs swollen beyond 
 all compass, and held off the ground ; all the water 
 gone, and the animal half mad with thirst. 
 
 Even with the most careful attendance, many 
 days must pass before the horse is again fit for work. 
 We can hardly blame the man, who treats the horse 
 as he himself would like to be treated — i.e. by being 
 supplied with plenty to eat and drink, and left to 
 undisturbed repose for the whole day. 
 
 The man has acted in sheer ignorance, and so far 
 is free from blame. But why should he be ignorant 
 of so simple a matter ? The real fault lies with the 
 
DRINKING ON A JOURNEY. 295 
 
 owner, who has entrusted his horse to a man without 
 having ascertained that his subordinate knows any- 
 thing about the animal. 
 
 So universal is this custom of keeping the horse 
 too long without food and then trying to make up 
 by over-feeding it, that even in high- class stables 
 there are few horses which have not more or less 
 suffered from it. A veterinary surgeon of long ex- 
 perience stated that he ' never dissected the carcase 
 of an aged animal without finding the capacity of the 
 stomach morbidly enlarged, and the walls of the 
 viscus rendered dangerously thin by repeated dis- 
 tension.' 
 
 A groom who knows anything of the structure 
 of the horse will always bear in mind the all-important 
 maxim in feeding the horse — i.e. little and often. 
 
 Then there comes the question of the amount of 
 water which a horse ought to have, and when it 
 ought to have it. The answer is simple enough. 
 Let the animal drink when it likes and as much as it- 
 likes, and it will never damage its stomach by over- 
 drinking. 
 
 In this country there still prevails an idea, or 
 rather a superstition, that if a horse be allowed to 
 drink freely before starting on a journey, he will 
 become broken-winded by the end of it. I say 
 especially ' in this country,' because in America no 
 
296 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 such prejudice exists. As might naturally be sup- 
 posed, the deprivation of water conduces to the 
 very evil which it was intended to prevent. When 
 the thirsty animal does get at the water, it drinks 
 eagerly and rapidly, just as a thirsty man would 
 do, and so causes the stomach to be abnormally 
 distended. 
 
 The Americans seem to have taken a leaf out of 
 the Turk's book, as far as the giving of water is con- 
 cerned. 
 
 ' While on the subject of horses, let me say a few 
 words upon their management by the Turks. 
 
 ' First of all, a Turk never is wantonly cruel to 
 any beast. He never strikes nor spurs a horse in a 
 rage, and his movements are so quiet and collected, 
 that a horse soon forgets all fear with him, and to 
 find a restive horse is rare indeed. 
 
 * Whenever a Turk passes water, winter or sum- 
 mer, he lets his horse drink as much as it wants ; but 
 when he has done so, he rides it on fast at once, and 
 never lets it stand still after drinking. If possible, 
 he gives it its fill of water half an hour before the 
 end of its journey. Directly he dismounts, he loosens 
 the girths, and then leads the horse about till it is 
 quite cool. It is then put in the stable with the 
 saddle on, and this is not taken off for an hour or 
 more. When this is done, and when he has had 
 
TRAINING. 297 
 
 water on his way home, he never " breaks out," and 
 never refuses his feed. 
 
 'It is a British prejudice, and a very cruel one, 
 not to let a horse drink when he is thirsty. If any 
 of my readers have a horse that does not feed when 
 he comes in from a day's hunting, let him try the 
 Turkish plan.' — H. C. Barkley, ' Five Years in 
 Bulgaria.' 
 
 Not so many years ago the same idea prevailed 
 in connection with the training of competitors in 
 athletic sports. 
 
 As some of my readers may have personal reasons 
 for remembering if they have rowed in a college 
 boat-race, one of the chief duties of the trainer was 
 to dole out liquids to his men as if they were adrift 
 on the ocean with a scanty supply of water. The 
 men were kept in a perpetual state of raging thirst, 
 so that on the day when the traditional black draught 
 had to be administered, they almost flew at it because 
 it was liquid. 
 
 At the present time, the trainers, being educated 
 men, have seen the absurdity of a process which was 
 invented by the ignorant prize-fighting set of a century 
 ago, and have gradually emancipated their charges 
 from the incessant physicings, ' training mixtures,' 
 semi-raw beef, total deprivation of vegetables, and 
 the chary doles of ' old,' i.e. hard ale, which con- 
 
298 HORSE AM) MAN. 
 
 stituted the whole of their liquid nourishment. No 
 wonder that so many broke down under the process 
 of ' going through the mill ' as it was called, and that 
 their constitutions were permanently injured. 
 
 But, when horses are concerned, the training is 
 very little improved, the trainers, as a rule, being 
 illiterate men, and therefore clinging to the traditions 
 of their forefathers. Grooms and others who are in 
 charge of horses naturally look up to the managers 
 of racing stables as superior beings, and accept un- 
 conditionally any of their dicta as necessarily in- 
 fallible. 
 
 It is time, however, that we should fling aside all 
 those traditions, and that in England, as in America, 
 a horse shall no longer be tortured with thirst during 
 his work. 
 
 In many large establishments the horses are 
 allowed to drink whenever they like and as much as 
 they like. One notable example is to be found in 
 the stables of Messrs. Barclay and Perkins. 
 
 When a horse wishes to drink, he rattles his 
 halter in a peculiar manner which the horses learn 
 from each other. The groom in attendance knows 
 the signal, and lets the horse loose. The animal goes 
 of his own accord to the water-troughs, drinks as 
 much as he wants, and then returns to his stable, 
 without requiring an attendant. 
 
HJEE WATER. 299 
 
 This principle is, I believe, adopted in many- 
 places, but I mention the establishment of Messrs. 
 Barclay and Perkins because I have been eye-witness 
 of its practical working. 
 
 Above all, the water and the vessel in which it is 
 contained must be scrupulously clean. Too much 
 attention cannot be given to this injunction, especially 
 in stables where there is no water trough, and the 
 pail is the only means of giving the horse drink. 
 Those who are much about stables will understand 
 what I mean. No nitre or other farrier's messes 
 should be allowed in the water. 
 
 I very much wish that a few boldly drawn 
 coloured diagrams could be issued, showing the 
 principal points in the structure of the horse's foot, 
 mouth, lungs, and stomach ; that it should be incum- 
 bent for these diagrams to be kept displayed in every 
 stable, and that no one, not even a boy, should 
 be allowed the management of a horse until he could 
 show that he was familiar with, and could understand, 
 the diagrams. 
 
 Among the many faults of the ordinary stable, I 
 casually mentioned the sloping floor. Of course, the 
 object of this slope is evident enough, and it is also 
 evident that if the floor were perfectly level it would 
 be impossible to keep the stable decently clean. But 
 
300 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 the slope is in the wrong direction, and its effects 
 upon the horse are simply disastrous. 
 
 As long as the horse stands or lies upon a floor 
 that slopes backwards, he can enjoy no real rest. 
 Suppose that we revert to our original parallel 
 between a horse and a locomotive engine, and sup- 
 pose the engine to be placed on a rising incline. The 
 result would be that the engine would immediately 
 begin to roll backwards ; and if it were to retain 
 its position, it must keep the wheels at work so as 
 to counteract the incline. I do not think that we 
 should much admire the wisdom of the owner of the 
 engine if he were to station it all night upon an 
 incline, so as to keep it at work, and wear out its 
 machinery merely in order to retain its position. 
 
 Yet, in most stables the horse is subjected to 
 precisely similar treatment. By the force of gravity 
 it is kept perpetually slipping backwards, and can 
 only counteract this slipping process by the continual 
 action of the muscles. 
 
 Let any one try it for himself. Let him stand 
 for a quarter of an hour upon the side of a hill and 
 facing the slope. He will very soon find out that, 
 however still he may stand, he cannot retain his 
 position without exerting the muscles of the legs to a 
 degree which every minute renders more irksome. 
 Now let him turn in the opposite direction, and he 
 
SLOPING FLOORS. 301 
 
 will find that the relief will be instantaneous, and 
 that he need not use one-tenth of the exertion which 
 is required in the former position. 
 
 Instinctively the horse knows this fact as well as 
 man does by means of reason, and when the animal 
 is at liberty on sloping ground, the animal invariably 
 stands so that the fore-feet are lower than the hinder 
 pair. 
 
 Even when the horse lies down for its night's rest, 
 matters are not mended. Let the reader try to sleep 
 on a sloping bed, and he may have some idea of the 
 feelings of a horse under similar circumstances. 
 
 Of course there must be drainage, and the drains 
 must slope downwards. But there is not the least 
 necessity that though the drains slope, the floor 
 should slope also ; and any one who possesses the 
 least smattering of sanitary engineering can drain 
 a stable more effectually than can be done by the 
 present system, and yet can keep the floor level, so 
 as to make it a comfortable resting place for the 
 horse, whether the animal be standing or lying. 
 
 There is one point more on which I should like 
 to touch, though it is not nearly so important as those 
 which have been already mentioned. This is the 
 position of the manger and drinking trough. For 
 many years I have felt certain that both these 
 
302 HOESE AND MAN". 
 
 accessories to the stable are placed much too high 
 for the convenience of the horse, but should scarcely 
 have felt courageous enough to publish my idea, 
 had not several acknowledged ' horsey ' authorities 
 expressed the same opinion. 
 
 Watch a horse feeding and drinking when he is 
 at liberty, and you will see that when he feeds his 
 nose is on a level with his fore-hoofs, and that when 
 he drinks it is below them. The whole structure of 
 his head, neck, throat, and especially that of the 
 veins of the neck, indicates the position which the 
 head was intended to assume when the horse was 
 eating or drinking. Yet we put the hay into a rack 
 above the level of his head, throw the oats, beans, 
 &c, into a manger on a level with his breast, and 
 pour the water into a trough on the same level as 
 the manger. In the model stable, the manger would 
 be on a level with the floor, and the running water in 
 a trough a little below it. 
 
 One more defect of ordinary stables has yet to be 
 mentioned. The door is, as a rule, much too small, 
 both in width and height, especially the former. 
 This is not of so great importance when the horse is 
 entering the stable, as when it is coming out. A 
 high-spirited animal, which has passed some eight 
 hours in the stable, is full of spring and joyfulness 
 
1 WEAVING.' 303 
 
 when brought out into the air, and dances, rather 
 than walks, through the door. If the doorway be 
 too narrow or too low, the animal is apt to strike 
 itself against the door-post, and so to break one of 
 the projecting portions of the hip bone. It is true 
 that if a groom places himself in front of the horse 
 and backs out of the stable, leading the horse after 
 him, he will take the animal safely through a very 
 narrow doorway. But it is never right to trust the 
 discretion of a subordinate when the welfare of the 
 horse is at stake, especially when a mere enlarge- 
 ment of the doorway will make it safe even for a 
 restive horse and a careless groom. 
 
 There are many other defects in ordinary stables, 
 such, for example, as the narrowness of the stalls, 
 which is the primary cause of * weaving ' — i.e. fidget- 
 ting, crib-biting, and other ' vices ' of the stable. 
 
 As for weaving, all imprisoned animals weave 
 in one way or another, as any one may see by 
 visiting the Zoological Gardens. It is their only 
 mode of relieving the intolerable monotony of their 
 existence. There is just now a wolf which has 
 invented a totally new method of weaving. He goes 
 to the back of the cage, runs a pace or two, jumps 
 into the air with outspread and stiffened legs, and 
 comes down so as to slide as far as the bars. 
 
 There is really no great harm in weaving, any 
 
304 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 more than there is in a child swinging its legs if 
 compelled to sit still on a form or chair when its 
 natural instinct urges it to run, and jump, and shout, 
 in order to let off its superabundant energy. 
 
 In the one case the groom, and in the other the 
 teacher, looks upon these restless movements as a 
 sort of wilful vice, which must be checked by punish- 
 ment. Yet, the fault does not lie with the horse or 
 child, but with those who deprived it of its natural 
 amount of exercise. 
 
 As to crib-biting, a vice which is mostly thought 
 to be incurable, it is almost wholly caused by the 
 narrowness of the stall, and the confinement of the 
 movements of the animal. I never heard of a horse 
 beginning this vice in a loose box. It may from 
 custom continue it, though the reason for it has 
 been taken away ; but, as far as I know, the evil 
 habit has never originated in a stable where the horse 
 could move about. 
 
 I have seen a very ingenious form of manger, 
 which was invented in order to cure horses which 
 were given to crib -biting. A galvanic battery was 
 connected with metallic plates which ran above and 
 below the edge of the manger. As long as the horse 
 uses the manger for its legitimate purposes, he has 
 no reason for supposing that it is not like any other 
 manger, but, as soon as he seizes the edge with his 
 
ELECTRIC MANGER. 305 
 
 teeth, he forms a connection between the upper and 
 lower plates, and receives a shock which makes him 
 loosen his hold. It is not strong enough to injure 
 the animal, but quite strong enough to impress on 
 his mind that mangers are not meant to be bitten, 
 and that if he bites a manger it will avenge itself. 
 This invention was shown me by Messrs. Martingale, 
 of 158 Piccadilly. 
 
 x 
 
306 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The horse and the locomotive again — ' Vice ' in horses and its invariable 
 cause — Mayhew's opinion — Vice in cavalry horses — The soldier and 
 the ' irreclaimable ' savage — New mode of treatment — Apparent 
 failure and ultimate success — A relapse when in strange hands — 
 Another ' irreclaimable ' savage — Story of ' Fly,' ' The Baroness,' 
 and ' War Eagle,' all three being New Zealand horses — The horse's 
 capacity for affection — Its peculiar love for man — The horse a 
 gregarious animal —Bulgarian horses — ' Spoiled ' horses — The horse's 
 desire to obey man — A circus horse — Gilpin redivivus — Cavalry 
 horses and their habits of obedience — The old horse at a review — 
 Disbanded horses in a thunderstorm — The 14th Hussars at the Cape 
 — Escape of their horses — An amateur review without officers — 
 Muster of loose and wounded horses after battle — Mr. Luck's horse — 
 Imprisoned in winter — Endurance of the horse — ' Sam ' and his tricks. 
 
 Throughout this work comparisons have been drawn 
 between the horse and the locomotive engine. It is 
 worthy of notice that whereas the driver of an 
 engine comes to look upon it as a living creature, 
 always talks of it as ' she,' and treats it as if it 
 were possessed of feeling and intelligence, too many 
 drivers or managers of horses look upon them as 
 machines which can only be made to work by hard 
 words and harder blows. 
 
 They think — or, rather, they assume, as the 
 ignorant always do in lieu of thinking — that horses 
 
RULING BY KINDNESS. 307 
 
 and men are naturally antagonistic to each other ; 
 that the horse is always trying to thwart the man, 
 and that it will only work when compelled by the 
 terror of the lash. They act on this assumption, and 
 the natural consequence is, that there is a perpetual 
 struggle between them and the horses which are under 
 their control. 
 
 Of course there are exceptions, but, as every one 
 will admit who has had experience of grooms, 
 stablemen, and drivers, whether in country or in 
 town, brutality is the rule, and kindness the excep- 
 tion. It must be said on behalf of the men that 
 they have the excuse of ignorance. They have been 
 brought up to the idea that a horse can only be 
 ruled by fear. They have never seen any other 
 mode adopted, and naturally refuse to believe that 
 any other mode is possible. 
 
 I have often wondered why, even for their own 
 sakes, those who have the charge of horses do not 
 invariably treat them with kindness. It is so much 
 easier to manage a horse that is loving, confiding, 
 docile, and obedient, than one which goes in con- 
 stant fear of its attendant, and has to be coerced 
 into every action, that a groom who deliberately 
 makes a horse afraid of him is infinitely more foolish 
 than the poor beast which has no choice in the 
 matter. 
 
 x2 
 
308 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 For my part, the longer I live the more fully 
 I am convinced that ' vice ' in a horse signifies 
 cruelty on the part of man. Vice forms no part of 
 a horse's normal constitution. No horse is born 
 with a desire (like Mr. Winkle's natural taste for 
 perjury) for kicking or biting human beings. An 
 ' irreclaimable ' savage is made, not born, and the 
 most painful feature in the case is, that the fiercest 
 savages are invariably high-spirited and sensitive 
 animals. 
 
 All horses are not alike, as the ordinary groom 
 thinks, any more than all boys are alike, as the 
 ordinary schoolmaster thinks, or at least used to 
 think. There is as much variety in the characters of 
 horses as of boys, and the schoolmaster or the groom 
 who tries to convert his charges into machines will 
 always find himself in difficulties with the pick of 
 the school or stable. It is the sensitiveness and Irish 
 spirit of a horse that convert it into a savage, when 
 treated with persistent brutal cruelty. The dull- 
 witted horse submits and suffers, but the high-spirited 
 animal rebels against such treatment, and soon learns 
 that if it can do no more, it can at all events have 
 the gratification of making its groom afraid of it. 
 And, as the groom is the only human being with 
 whom it is brought into contact, we need not be 
 surprised if it is unable to distinguish his conduct 
 
* CRUISER.' 309 
 
 as that of an individual, and in consequence con- 
 siders that the whole of the human race is in league 
 against it. 
 
 I used the term ' irreclaimable ' as applied to a 
 savage horse, but enclosed the epithet in inverted 
 commas to show that it is a word to which exception 
 can be made. I do not consider any horse, however 
 savage, to be irreclaimable, but believe that if brutal 
 and ignorant men have converted the horse into a 
 savage, gentle and wise men can reclaim him from 
 his savagery. Two more ' irreclaimable ' savages 
 never lived than the celebrated horses ' Stafford ' and 
 ' Cruiser,' the latter being about as safe to approach 
 in the stable as a ti^er in his den. 
 
 Lord Dorchester, the owner of ' Cruiser,' stated in 
 a letter to the Times that until Earey took the animal 
 in hand he had not been ridden for three years, and 
 that it was necessary to keep an iron muzzle always 
 on his jaws. His paroxysms of rage would last for 
 several days together, during which time no man 
 dared approach him. He has been known out of 
 sheer frenzy to kneel on the ground and tear up the 
 road with his teeth. 
 
 Yet, it is a matter of history that both these ani- 
 mals were reclaimed in a very short time, and by the 
 sheer power of kindness. I never saw ' Stafford,' 
 but with ' Cruiser ' I was on familiar terms, the beau- 
 
310 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 tiful animal being as gentle and playful as a kitten, 
 and quite as craving for human notice. These 
 qualities were not implanted by Earey. They ex- 
 isted already, but had lain in abeyance until Earey's 
 gentle sway evoked them, and but for him would 
 never have been suspected. 
 
 Mayhew and Lupton speak very strongly on this 
 subject in their work on ' Horse Management : ' — 
 
 'When a horse is tenderly and kindly looked 
 after, it is difficult to form any conception of how 
 interesting and intelligent he becomes, watching his 
 groom's every movement in the stable day after day 
 and week after week, until he knows as well as the 
 man himself what is next to be done. How patiently 
 such a horse will stand to be cleaned or saddled, and 
 how eagerly will he turn round to have his head 
 groomed or to be bitted, and how grateful is he but 
 for a crust of bread, a handful of oats, a mouthful of 
 hay, or even a kind word, when spoken in a kindly 
 tone by his master. 
 
 ' When such a man enters the stable the horse 
 receives him with a neigh of welcome, pawing the 
 ground with his forefoot until the master is alongside 
 of him and pats him on the neck encouragingly. 
 
 'As good masters make good servants, so do 
 good kind grooms make good and affectionate horses. 
 I do not mean the man who makes the horse's coat 
 
MAYIIEW AND LUrTON. 311 
 
 shine like satin, for drugs will give him a glossy coat 
 while they undermine his constitution I refer to 
 the groom who, in addition to the lustrous look of 
 the animals in his care, is never heard yelling at 
 them to " stand over," or " come round," who is assi- 
 duous in his attentions upon them ; who, recognising 
 in them the possession of virtues and passions, and 
 but scarcely less reasoning powers than he possesses 
 himself, will never even commit an outrage upon 
 their feelings, far less deny them merciful treat- 
 ment. 5 
 
 I have received many accounts of cavalry horses, 
 showing the advantages to horse and rider of kindness 
 on the part of the latter. If any man could have an 
 excuse for being impatient with a horse, it is the 
 cavalry soldier. He cannot spend as much time on 
 his horse as he likes or when he likes. His time is 
 meted out to him like his rations, and if within the 
 given time he cannot produce his horse in a fit state 
 to pass his superior officer's eye, he has to sutler 
 for it. 
 
 So an ignorant man, who has always been used 
 to seeing horses ruled by force, may be pardoned for 
 carrying out his work in the only manner which he 
 knows. But he has imposed upon himself a task 
 which is far more severe than would have fallen to 
 him had he ruled his horse by kindness. Here is 
 
312 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 one of the many narratives that have been sent to 
 me, the writer in this case being the soldier himself. 
 As, however, he was unused to composition, he was 
 needlessly diffuse and encumbered with moral reflec- 
 tions, as is the way with inexperienced writers. I have 
 therefore condensed his account and narrated it in 
 the third instead of the first person. I may mention 
 that the writer gives the names of the lieutenant- 
 colonel in command, his major, his captain, and his 
 adjutant, as references if they should be required. 
 
 He enlisted as a mere lad in a dragoon regiment, 
 and after some three years of service found that 
 his horse was not spirited enough for him. There 
 happened to be in the same stable a very splendid 
 horse, which was unfortunately so ferocious that the 
 men were afraid of it as an irreclaimable savage and 
 hated it. 
 
 The soldier had noticed that his comrades were 
 apt to avenge themselves on the horse when they 
 could do so with safety, and thought that a different 
 treatment might improve its temper. So he asked 
 the troop sergeant-major to let him have a trial, and, 
 if he succeeded, to exchange the horse for his own. 
 
 The sergeant-major very properly remonstrated 
 with him, saying that the horse had injured several 
 men severely, and that his life would be endangered 
 if he meddled with it. He also added the curiously 
 
A CAVALRY HORSE. 313 
 
 grim military aphorism, that soldiers are wanted for 
 service and not as corpses or patients in hospital. 
 However, he at last reluctantly gave his consent. 
 
 The man at once went to take possession of his 
 new charge, and almost immediately verified the 
 sergeant-major's predictions. He had hardly begun 
 to groom the horse, when it seized him by the side, 
 lifted him from the ground, and banged him against 
 the manger. He was rescued by his comrades, and 
 though much bruised, was not seriously hurt. 
 
 The other men wanted him to beat the horse 
 severely as a punishment for its conduct, but he 
 steadily refused, and tried to conciliate the animal 
 by kindness. It was some time before the horse 
 could be made to understand that his new master 
 did not intend to hurt him ; but in the course of 
 a month or two the animal's feeling-s underwent an 
 entire revulsion, and it conceived the strongest affec- 
 tion for its master, following him like a dog, and 
 allowing him to do anything with it. 
 
 After a while, the soldier had a furlough of six 
 weeks, and went away, begging his comrades to treat 
 the horse kindly, feed it well, and not trouble them- 
 selves about dressing it, an operation which it had 
 always resented. 
 
 He had only been away a day or two when he 
 received a letter saying his horse was in hospital. 
 
314 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 On his return, he asked to see the animal, which had 
 evidently returned to its vicious ways, and was 
 challenged to enter its box without speaking. He 
 unhesitatingly did so, and was cordially greeted by 
 the horse, who knew his step. 
 
 He was allowed to take the horse to the troop 
 stables, and found it in reality so well and strong, 
 that two days afterwards it carried him through one 
 of the late Lord Cardigan's very trying field days with 
 even more than ordinary vigour. 
 
 It was found afterwards that the horse, as is 
 usually the case, had been made vicious by brutal 
 treatment. He was a well-bred, high-spirited animal, 
 and had been placed in the regiment when very 
 young. He was fortunate enough at first to fall into 
 the hands of a kind master who made a pet of him, 
 and in consequence he was docile and affectionate. 
 But his master died, and he fell into the hands of 
 men who looked upon a horse merely as a machine, 
 and could not understand that it possessed feelings. 
 
 Not having been accustomed to ill-usage, the horse 
 naturally resented it, and before long had learned to 
 look upon man as its natural enemy, which could only 
 be kept from hurting it by being made afraid of it. 
 But, when at last a man refused to avenge himself as 
 he might have done, and resumed the kind treatment 
 to which it had been accustomed, its better nature 
 
' FLY.' 315 
 
 revived, and it became docile and affectionate to its 
 friend, though it still remained suspicious of others. 
 
 Another history of a savage horse I give in the 
 writer's own language : — 
 
 1 St. Kilda : Melbourne. 
 
 ' While in New Zealand, I purchased from Aus- 
 tralia a thoroughbred filly, "Fly." On attempting 
 to mount her, I saw from the set of her back, the 
 white of her eye, and the twist of her neck that she 
 was a dangerous animal, and, being at the time deli- 
 cate and nervous, I sent her to Mr. E 's racing 
 
 stables, to be ridden by one of his jockeys. 
 
 ' She threw her first rider, C , three times in one 
 
 day. He had known her in Australia, and remarked 
 that he would as soon see the devil come into his 
 stables as " Fly." In a fortnight she was returned to 
 me with a note to say that she would never be fit for 
 any but a bold, strong rider, and that she must never 
 have much rest. 
 
 ' Still, in every other respect she was so much to 
 my taste, that I did not like parting with her without 
 another trial. So I fondled her, talked to her, got 
 half on and then down several times, so that she 
 might not be afraid of me ; and when I did at last 
 mount, I sat quite still until she was inclined to 
 move. 
 
 * From that day no quieter animal could exist 
 
316 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 with me. Unsaddled, and with only a halter instead 
 of a bit, she would carry me anywhere. Once, a 
 child ran under her feet. The thing was so sudden 
 that I was powerless, but she at once stopped, and 
 held up her hind leg so as not to hurt the child. 
 Yet, when I was obliged to sell her no one could ride 
 or do anything with her. 
 
 1 There were two other horses, " The Baroness " 
 and " War Eagle," that were perfectly quiet with me, 
 but would carry no one else without putting them to 
 great trouble, not to say danger. People wondered 
 how I made my horses so showy and cheerful, and 
 yet so gentle and docile. The secret is simple enough. 
 Kindness, sympathy, and patience. I am never un- 
 kind to any animal, and they seem to know it. — B. S. 
 Creasy.' 
 
 There is one point in the horse's character winch 
 the ordinary groom invariably ignores. This is the 
 animal's extraordinary capacity for affection. He 
 must love something, man in preference to any other 
 being. In default of man, he will naturally be best 
 pleased with the society of his own kind. He is 
 essentially as gregarious an animal as the sheep, and 
 in the wild state is never found alone. In North 
 America, as is well known, the horses always assemble 
 in large droves, and even in the semi-wild state to 
 
HALF-WILD HORSES. 317 
 
 which the horse recedes in Bulgaria, the horses obey 
 the same instinct. Mr. H. C. Barkley, in his ' Five 
 Years in Bulgaria,' takes notice of this fact : — 
 
 ' The great droves of horses and cattle, and flocks 
 of sheep, give the plain a very pretty appearance. 
 As for the horses, they are but little trouble, for in 
 winter and summer they feed themselves on the open 
 plains, and there increase and multiply. They go 
 about in droves of about thirty, with one stallion who 
 acts as master over all, and keeps them in order. 
 Woe betide a young lady who casts sheep's eyes 
 towards a neighbouring drove, or a colt who wishes 
 to enlarge his mind by an interchange of ideas with 
 the young bloods of another family. The vicious- 
 looking old husband and father trots quietly up to 
 the delinquent, and either takes at one bite about 
 a pound of flesh out of its neck, or gives it a kick on 
 the hocks that reduces it to three legs for a week.' 
 
 It is sheer cruelty to box up horses after they 
 have done their work, and to keep them from com- 
 municating with their own kind. 
 
 Were there any other inducement to make man 
 sympathetic with the horse, and to ' gentle ' it, as 
 the Americans say, instead of ' breaking ' it as we 
 say in England, it is the greater amount of work 
 which can be got out of a horse by treating him 
 kindly. Everyone who is conversant with nautical 
 
318 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 matters knows how much more work is done by- 
 sailors who 'pull with a will,' than by those who 
 merely pull under compulsion, and in this respect 
 horses are very much like men. 
 
 Not that horses should be over-indulged or 
 ' spoiled.' They are none the happier for it, but, 
 like spoiled dogs and children, are always wilful 
 and discontented. A ship's crew needs that the 
 captain shall be firm as well as kind, and that his 
 orders must be instantaneously obeyed. It is good 
 that mercy should temper justice, but unless justice 
 be paramount, mercy becomes a cruel weakness. 
 So the horse must never be allowed to feel for a 
 moment that he can have his own way in defiance 
 of his owner's will. With the horse as with man, 
 ' service is perfect freedom,' and both are the happier 
 when this principle is carried out. 
 
 In fact, the horse wants to obey man, and if its 
 master will let the animal know his wishes, it will 
 obey him, even though he may not be present. From 
 among many examples of this fact, I select one or 
 two, premising that as some of the personages are 
 still living, the narrator among the number, I employ 
 initials. All the names, however, are given fully in 
 the original manuscript, and the writer is a gentleman 
 of widespread literary fame : — 
 
 1 When I was a boy, I lived at R in Cornwall. 
 
A NEW JOHN GILPIN". 319 
 
 A circus came there, and, a breakage having occurred 
 in some of the iron work, it was repaired by A. 
 M . The proprietor of the circus went off with- 
 out paying, and was followed by his creditor, who at 
 last consented to accept a horse in lieu of money. 
 So the horse, a piebald one, such as are often found 
 in a circus, was taken back to E . 
 
 ' A few days afterwards, the new owner having to 
 settle an account at some little distance, determined 
 to ride there. All went well until he arrived at his 
 destination, when, seeing a circular flower-bed, with 
 a gravel path round it, the horse took it into his 
 head that the path was a circus, and accordingly 
 dashed into it, and began to gallop round and round 
 in circus fashion. 
 
 ' Poor A , a short, stout man, and a very 
 
 bad rider, clung to the horse's neck, and then sud- 
 denly realised the fact that he was enacting the part 
 of John Gilpin. Meanwhile, off flew his hat, strictly 
 according to the part ; the enraged gardener held up 
 his spade and tried to stop the horse, and save the 
 flowers, which were being kicked to pieces, and 
 hurled right and left. The worst of it was that the 
 
 proprietor of the house and garden, Mr. S , was 
 
 looking on from an upper window. 
 
 ' Presently the horse stopped, and A hoped 
 
 to get down. But there was no such luck for him. 
 
320 HORSE AND MAX. 
 
 The horse had only completed the number of rounds 
 which would bring him to the Calenderer's door, and 
 presently started off again. Not until he had finished 
 the full number of circuits did he stop, and then 
 stood as quiet as a lamb. 
 
 ■ His miserable master, flushed, dishevelled, and 
 full of shame, was then shown into the very room 
 
 where Mr. S had witnessed the adventure. 
 
 In his confusion he tried to stammer out some sort 
 of apology for the mischief which he had wrought. 
 
 Mr. S , however, so far from being angry, 
 
 begged him to come and repeat the performance as 
 often as he liked, for to see a real John Gilpin was 
 worth all the flowers in the garden. 
 
 ' For some days afterwards, the horse was safely 
 kept in the stable, but as a fair was to be held at 
 
 a neighbouring village, C , the horse was sent, 
 
 not ridden there, and placed in a shed, while A 
 
 went into the fair to find a purchaser. When he 
 returned, the horse was gone, and so was a window 
 at the end of the shed. Pieces of wood and glass 
 were seen scattered outside, and it was evident that 
 the horse must have leaped through it into a large 
 field. 
 
 ' On looking through the window, the horse was 
 seen at the farther end of the field, careering round 
 and round as before, to the admiration of a crowd 
 
COACH HORSES. 321 
 
 of spectators. No one could stop him until lie had 
 finished his task, although four men were offered 
 sixpence each to catch him. The worst of it was 
 that he was so cut and wounded by the broken glass, 
 that he was re-sold for a trifle to the proprietor of 
 the circus.' 
 
 Perhaps the horse was happier in the restricted 
 life to which he had been accustomed, than in the 
 comparative liberty of the road. The account was 
 sent to a nephew of the unwilling John Gilpin, and 
 corroborated by him before it was transmitted to me. 
 
 A similar act of conscientious duty on the part 
 of the horse was lately told me by a gentleman 
 whose father witnessed the occurrence. 
 
 About sixty years ago the Blandford four-horse 
 mail coach came in as usual, but without coachman, 
 guard, or passengers. It was noticed that the horses 
 galloped up the street at full speed, this being the 
 etiquette at the conclusion of every stage, turned 
 through the narrow archway leading to the inn 
 where they were accustomed to stop, and pulled up 
 without the slightest mishap. 
 
 The difficulty of this task can only be understood 
 by those who have undertaken it. To take a carriage 
 and pair through a narrow gateway is by no means 
 easy, and requires considerable practice. In the 
 case of four horses, the difficulty is more than 
 
 Y 
 
322 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 doubled. Yet the horses achieved the task without 
 any help, their memory having served them in lieu 
 of the coachman's guidance. 
 
 On inquiry, it turned out that when the horses 
 were changed at the preceding change, and the 
 coach deserted for a time, the team had taken the 
 coach into their own management. A feeble old 
 ostler was at their heads, but he said that when he 
 caught at the reins the horses whisked him out of 
 the way ' like a ninepin,' and never could have 
 stopped until they pulled up at the inn at Bland- 
 ford. 
 
 As in the John Gilpin case, the obedient cha- 
 racter of the horse is sometimes apt to give a very 
 ludicrous and scarcely dignified aspect to the adven- 
 ture in which the animal is engaged. 
 
 Some years ago a chaise horse was bought by a 
 Nonconforming minister, and employed in the some- 
 what staid, though easy task, of conveying him to 
 and fro on his labours. After a few years of such 
 work, the man died, and the chaise was then driven 
 by his widow, who had the misfortune of being 
 stone deaf. 
 
 One clay a review took place at some little 
 distance from her house at Weymouth, and the old 
 lady insisted on going to see it, and driving the 
 chaise herself. 
 
THE OLD SOLDIEE. 323 
 
 She was seated in the chaise, looking at the 
 manoeuvres, when her horse suddenly bolted, and 
 to her great terror made straight for a cavalry regi- 
 ment which was on the ground. The horse had 
 heard a sound which he knew, and which she, owing 
 to her deafness, did not hear, and would not have 
 understood if she had heard it. 
 
 It was a call from the cavalry bugle, one of the 
 preparatory orders before a charge. The command- 
 ing officer saw the state of things, opened out his 
 men right and left, and in dashed the horse to his 
 right place. He took the correct alignment, and 
 stood ready for the next order, which followed 
 immediately. 
 
 The cavalry charged, and so did the old lady, the 
 horse being in the proper place, she and the chaise 
 being in the rear. The horse would not leave the 
 regiment, and his mistress would not leave the chaise, 
 and throughout the manoeuvres, horse, old lady, and 
 chaise did their part, the horse knowing the bugle 
 calls as well as any of the men, though so many 
 years had elapsed since he had heard them. 
 
 When the review was over, the delighted officers 
 thronged round the old horse, and begged to be 
 allowed to buy him and keep him as a regimental 
 pet for the rest of his days. His mistress, however, 
 refused to part with him, and so she kept the old 
 
 T 2 
 
324 HOESE AND MAN. 
 
 grey, but never again took him within sound of a 
 cavalry bugle. 
 
 The history of this adventure was sent to me 
 by a relative of the resolute old heroine, who, in spite 
 of her natural alarm at the unexpected movements, 
 refused to abandon her seat in the carriage, or to 
 part with the old friend who had been her companion 
 for so many years. 
 
 This is not a book of anecdotes, and so I 
 will only briefly mention two instances illustrative 
 of the principle of obedience which is so charac- 
 teristic of the animal, both belonging to the cavalry 
 horse. 
 
 At the end of the Peninsular War, a Yorkshire 
 cavalry regiment was disbanded, and the horses put 
 up for sale. The commanding officer, a wealthy 
 Yorkshire gentleman, could not bear the idea that 
 his old companions in battle should pass into the 
 possession of men who would not appreciate them 
 nor understand their ways. He therefore bought 
 them all, and purchased a large paddock, in which 
 they might pass the rest of their lives in honourable 
 retirement. 
 
 They had remained in the paddock for some 
 years, when a violent thunderstorm took place. 
 The animals mistook the rolling thunder for the 
 roar of cannon, and the lightning for the flashes of 
 
A STAMPEDE. 325 
 
 the guns. Their old habits of military obedience 
 returned, and they voluntarily assembled and ranged 
 themselves in battle order. 
 
 A somewhat similar instance occurred only a 
 few years ago, and is recorded by the well-known 
 writer who employs the nom de plume of 'Rapier' in 
 the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. The 
 account appeared in the issue of August 2, 1884 : — 
 
 ' A soldier friend, who has been quartered in the 
 Transvaal and Basutoland, was the other day telling 
 me of some of his Cape experiences, amongst which 
 one particularly interested me. I am sorry to say 
 that I cannot remember whether it was just after the 
 Zulu or Boer campaign, but at all events it had to 
 do with the 14th Hussars, who were in camp near 
 Newcastle. 
 
 ' This regiment had brought its horses from India, 
 many of them being stallions, and consequently of 
 high courage. One fine night, disturbed either by 
 flies or the bright moon, a dozen or so broke from 
 the picketing lines, and, careering through the others, 
 caused a regular stampede, so that in a few seconds 
 the whole regiment of horses was loose and galloping 
 wildly towards the river, which was crossed in safety, 
 some hitting on the ford, but the greater part 
 mming. 
 
 ' On the far side was a " veldt " or open space, 
 
326 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 where the regiment drilled daily, and here a very 
 remarkable thing happened. 
 
 1 Where there had been chaos and blind uncer- 
 tainty, perfect order supervened. Forming up into 
 troops and squadrons in their accustomed places, the 
 riderless horses proceeded quietly and steadily to put 
 themselves through a number of evolutions ; and it 
 was not until the arrival of the troopers with ropes 
 and bridles that the ghostly pageant — for such it 
 must have looked — broke up and dispersed to the 
 four corners of the earth.' — ' Kapler.' 
 
 The illustrated newspapers which chronicled the 
 deeds of the Germans and French during their 
 terrible war, recorded several instances in which the 
 riderless, wounded, and even dying horses obeyed 
 the sound of the bugle, and ranged themselves in 
 order after the battle was over. 
 
 In answer to some queries which I addressed to 
 him, Mr. Luck kindly sent me the following letter, 
 which arrived too late for insertion in its proper 
 place : — 
 
 'Darlington: October 3, 1884. 
 
 * My cob was six years old when I took off the 
 shoes in May 1882, and had the thrush in all his feet. 
 I am sorry to say that the thrush is not completely 
 cured in his off fore-foot, though we can keep it 
 
MR. LUCKS HORSE. 
 
 327 
 
 down, but it returns again and again. I ride and 
 drive him not very long distances, twenty-five miles 
 being the greatest distance he is called upon to do 
 in a day, though lie has sometimes done much more. 
 Last week I drove him over twenty miles a day for 
 four days in succession. Our roads are metalled 
 with a stone as hard as granite, and of course in the 
 
 MR. R. A. LUCK S HORSE, FORE LEGS NEARLY PERFECT. 
 
 country there are quantities of loose stones. I en- 
 close you two photos taken fifteen months after the 
 shoes had been removed. Of course the hoofs are 
 
 much better shaped now. 
 
 ' Yours, &c, 
 
 < E. A. Luck.' 
 
 The preceding pages were sent to the printer just 
 
328 HOKSE AM) MAN. 
 
 before I started for a lecture-tour in America. On 
 the return voyage, one of the fortunate passengers 
 who are never sea-sick, occupied a seat opposite mine 
 at table. We naturally became rather intimate, and I 
 very soon found out that he was specially interested 
 in horses. Being himself a sailor, he was not much 
 of a horseman, but was very fond of horses, and pro- 
 bably knew more of them than he would have done 
 if he had been brought up in a stable. 
 
 Among other subjects of conversation was the 
 careless manner in which stables were built, and the 
 insufficient supply of fresh air. Now, as Faraday 
 has shown, the enormous lungs of a horse require 
 more air than would be sufficient for ten human 
 beings, and yet we find that almost all stables are 
 so close that a man feels half- stifled when he enters 
 them. 
 
 I happened to mention the fact that the horses 
 which are owned by the North American Indians do 
 not know what a stable means, and even in the coldest 
 weather pass their whole lives in the open air, just 
 as they would do if they were wild (see Colonel 
 Dodge's account of the Indian's horse, quoted on pages 
 148 and 149). 
 
 My naval friend then told me a curious adventure 
 which had just occurred to a horse which he knew 
 well. 
 
' JAMMED.' 329 
 
 Last January (1885) was very cold in Massachu- 
 setts, and all traffic was conducted by means of 
 sleighs. On January 30, a horse was being driven 
 through Cambridge, when it took fright and ran away. 
 It upset the sleigh, flinging the occupants into the 
 snow, and then dashed off, banging the over-turned 
 sleigh against all objects that came in its path. 
 
 Before the former occupants could pick themselves 
 out of the snow, the sleigh and horse were out of 
 sight. Inquiries were made for them, but without 
 any success, both having vanished as if by a conjuring 
 trick. This happened on a Tuesday morning, and not 
 until the afternoon of the following Friday were the 
 missing horse and fragments of the sleigh discovered. 
 
 o o o 
 
 The animal, urged by the blind terror which 
 sometimes takes possession of a horse, had dashed 
 between two barns. The walls of the barns were not 
 quite parallel, but slightly sloped inwards. 
 
 So the horse found himself in a wedge-shaped 
 passage, too narrow, in fact, to allow him to pass 
 through it. When he tried to back out of the passage, 
 he was stopped by the broken sleigh, which was 
 firmly jammed crosswise between the barns. 
 
 The weather was very cold, twenty degrees below 
 freezing point, and there was a fierce north-west wind 
 blowing. Unfortunately the barns were built in a 
 north-west direction, so that the passage between 
 
OoO HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 them acted as a funnel, and allowed the wind to blow 
 with double fury over the imprisoned animal. 
 
 There the poor horse remained, having nothing to 
 eat or drink, no covering, and the furious wind blow- 
 ing over its unprotected body. It was discovered 
 accidentally, and, strangely enough, seemed little the 
 worse for its long imprisonment. Fortunately, it was 
 a horse that had only lately been imported from the 
 West, and so had not been accustomed to the hot 
 stables of Few England. Moreover, it had not been 
 clipped, and, therefore, was wearing the natural great- 
 coat which is provided for every horse at the end of 
 autumn. 
 
 This little history is so valuable in corroborating 
 Colonel Dodge's account of the horse's power of 
 endurance, that I am glad of the opportunity of 
 including it in this book. 
 
 On my return home, I found awaiting me a vast mass 
 of correspondence. Among the letters was a long one 
 from Australia, giving accounts of several pet animals. 
 One of these animals was a horse named ' Sam,' who 
 displayed such a talent for ' jockeying' his owner, after 
 the fashion of the American horse mentioned on page 
 259, that I insert it here, rather than omit it alto- 
 gether. 
 
 The wife of Mr. N., the owner of ' Sam,' is now in 
 
1 SAM.' 331 
 
 England, and has corroborated the absolute truth of 
 the little histories : — 
 
 * " Sam " was a handsome, flighty, high-spirited 
 roan, with black points. He had carried his master 
 faithfully during some ten years of arduous travelling, 
 through rivers and forests, over mountains and 
 trackless country, such as people in England would 
 never dream of, much less think of riding over. 
 
 1 So far, all had gone well, but on one unlucky 
 day " Sam " lost a shoe, and before any blacksmith's 
 forge could be reached, he had gone so lame, that it 
 was necessary to turn him out to grass. His owner, 
 Mr. N., procured a substitute, and "Sam" was left for 
 several months undisturbed in his paddock. 
 
 * At last, Mr.' N. caught him, and rode him some 
 eight or ten miles to the blacksmith to have him shod, 
 as a preliminary to resuming the usual day's work. 
 They reached the forge comfortably enough, and the 
 horse was re-shod. But they had scarcely proceeded 
 a couple of hundred yards, when " Sam " fell dead 
 lame, his head bobbing up and down, and his whole 
 demeanour indicating the acutest agony. 
 
 ' Of course, common humanity required that the 
 day's expedition should be given up, and there was no 
 choice for Mr. N. but to retrace his steps. But, 
 Miracle ! No sooner was " Sam's " head turned home- 
 wards, than the lameness vanished. 
 
332 HORSE AND MAN. 
 
 'Three times was the experiment tried with precisely 
 the same results, when it occurred to Mr. N. to com- 
 promise the matter, and by taking " Sam " an indirect 
 way, he made his calls, and finished his journey to the 
 satisfaction of all pai ties. " Sam " was evidently aware 
 that he was indebted to his lameness for his holiday, 
 and had feigned lameness for the sake of another re- 
 spite from work, but was not clever enough to carry 
 out the deception to its full extent. 
 
 ' Without the least approach to vice, " Sam " was 
 masterful and overbearing with regard to other horses. 
 On one occasion, four beside himself were running in 
 the same paddock, and as it was in the winter time, we 
 were accustomed to throw down five large bundles of 
 hay — one for each horse. 
 
 ' Now, " Sam " made it a point of honour to drive 
 the other horses from their food. By constant 
 vigilance, he could manage to keep guard over three 
 heaps of hay beside his own, but the fourth was 
 beyond his powers, and evidently cost him great 
 trouble of mind. 
 
 ' One day, however, a sudden inspiration seized 
 him. As soon as the hay was brought, he dashed at 
 the obnoxious heap, rolled it in the mud so as to 
 spoil it, and then returned complacently to his usual 
 position. 
 
 ' I have also seen " Sam " when in want of water go 
 
CLEVER COMRADES. 338 
 
 to the pump and work the handle with his mouth, 
 evidently knowing by personal observation that this 
 was the mode by which water was obtained. 
 
 'His companion was an exceedingly intelligent 
 and beautiful white pony, and the two were so clever 
 at opening my ordinary fastening to the garden-gate, 
 that a complicated arrangement of straps had to be 
 devised in order to keep them out. 
 
 ' Under the pump was a large tank, out of which 
 they were accustomed to drink. On one occasion a 
 washing-basin had been left in the tank. The two 
 horses undid the fastenings of the gate, let themselves 
 into the garden, and proceeded as usual to the tank. 
 They objected to the presence of the unaccustomed 
 basin, took it out of the tank and put it on the grass 
 before they would drink.' 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ABY 
 
 Abyssinian hunting, 145 
 
 Accidents, 118 
 
 Aloes, 98 
 
 Anchitheriuni, 14 
 
 Ankle of horse, 19 
 
 'Apollo,' 163 
 
 Astley, Mr. A. F.'s horses, 158, 
 
 &c. 
 Attitude, natural, 301 
 Australian mare ' Fly,' 315 
 
 Baker, Me. Whitmoke, 164,168 
 Barclay and Perkins, 228, 298 
 ' Baroness,' 316 
 Bearing-rein, 199, 205 
 
 — American, 209 
 
 — diseases caused by, 220 
 
 — overhead, 209 
 
 — and stumbling, 229 
 
 — summary, 240 
 Bedouin-rein, 207 
 Bellows, Mr. J., 83 
 Bergh, Henry, 220 
 Blacking hoofs, 93 
 Blandford coach, 321 
 Blinkers, 244 
 
 Boot, fashionable, 125 
 Bowditch, Mr., 122 
 Bowley, Mr. Samuel, 275 
 
 COM 
 
 Brakes and bearing-reins, 226 
 Brierley, Dr., 180 
 Bristol carters, 231 
 Brushing, 196 
 'Buffers,' 214 
 Bulgarian horses, 317 
 Burnaby, Col. Fred., 156 
 'Burr 'bit, 221 
 
 Calks, 116 
 
 — in America, 121 
 
 — effect on muscles, 126 
 Carpus, 11 
 
 Cavalry horses, 311, 322 
 Caves, men of the, 17 
 Character of the horse, 248 
 Charlier shoe, 134 
 Chapin, Mr. S., 73 
 Check-rein, the, 206 
 Children, restless, 304 
 Clever comrades, 333 
 Clicking, 196 
 Climbing, 24 
 Clipping, 277, 282 
 ' Clips,' 89 
 
 Coach, Blandford, 321 
 Coffin-bone, 15 
 Coloured diagrams, 21 
 Comrades, clever, 333 
 
336 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 COK 
 
 Coronary ring, 30, 44, 92 
 
 Cracknel), Mr. E., 232 
 
 Creasy, Mr. R. S., letter of, 315 
 
 Crib biting, 304 
 
 ' Cropping,' 246 
 
 Cruelty the cause of vice, 308 
 
 * Cruiser,' 309 
 
 Crupper, the, 276 
 
 Curb, the, 202 
 
 Curiosity of the horse, 249 
 
 Cutting, 196 
 
 Deafness, 247 
 Derby, the, 4 
 ' Dewdrops,' 60 
 Diagrams, coloured, 299 
 Diseases, caused by bearing-rein, 
 220 
 
 — caused by shoe, 197 
 Dixie, Lady Florence, 25 
 < Docking ' the tail, 267 
 
 ' Dolly ' and loose stones, 60 
 Door of stable, 302 
 Drivers of engines, 224 
 
 — of horses, 225 
 Drugs, 96 
 
 Duty, sense of, 319 
 Duties, reciprocal, xvii. 
 
 Ear, the horse's, 247 
 Edinburgh horses, 230 
 Egyptians, ancient, 203, 279 
 Eight-hoofed horse, 18 
 Elbow of horse, 12 
 Endurance of horse, 330 
 Engine-drivers, examination of, 
 
 224 
 Exmoor ponies, 24 
 Expansion of hoof, 51 
 Eye of the horse, 260 
 — professional, 196 
 
 HON 
 Failures, apparent, 192 
 Falkland Island horse, 30 
 Farriers, directions to, 57 
 < Fashion,' 200 
 Fear, rule of, 307 
 Femur, 18 
 Fetlock, angle of, 33 
 
 — section of, 40 
 Fibula, 19 
 Floors, sloping, 299 
 Flower, Mr. E. F., 199 
 'Fly,' 315 
 Foam-flinging, 217 
 Foot, human, 142 
 
 ' Foundered ' horses, 64 
 Frog, the, 33 
 
 — paring the, 66 
 
 — pressure of, 67 
 
 — value of, 68 
 
 Gas bearing-rein, 207 
 1 Gentling,' 317 
 Gerry, Mr., letter of, 133 
 Gill, Mr. S., 220 
 Gilpin, John, 319 
 Grazing, mode of, 293 
 Groom, the kindly, 311 
 
 « Hammel,' 69 
 Happy thoughts, 138 
 
 — more, 257 
 
 Hartmann's safety-pad, 74 
 ' Haw,' the, 263 
 
 Head, Sir Francis, 234 
 
 — tossing of, 217 
 Heels, opening, 61 
 Helps, Sir Arthur, 218 
 Hilly roads, 230 
 Hip-bone, injury to, 303 
 Hipparion, 14 
 
 Hock, 19 
 
 * Hogging ' the mane, 265 
 
 Honour, a point of, 332 
 
INDEX. 
 
 noo 
 Hoof, the, 22 
 
 — alteration of shape, 188 
 
 — and foot, 1 
 
 — difference in, 179 
 
 — internal, 38 
 
 — loosened, 115 
 
 — offices of, 27 
 
 — overgrown, 30, 193 
 
 — plasticity of, 171 
 
 — of wild horse, 34 
 Horse and ass, 265 
 Horse-clothing, A.merican, 27c 
 Horse, endurance of, 329 
 
 — ferocious, 312 
 
 — home of, 191 
 
 — without man, xvii. 
 Hot-fitting:, 8b' 
 Houghing, 19 
 
 ' Humane,' 174 
 Humerus, 10 
 
 1 Impetuosities,' 239 
 Impostor, an, 258 
 Imprisoned horse, 329 
 Indian horses, 148 
 India-rubber tires, 70 
 Infected provender, 290 
 Interfering, 196 
 Irreclaimable savages, 309 
 Irreligion, 167 
 Italian horses, 181 
 
 ORE 
 
 Lameness, sham, 331 
 Laminae, horny, 29, 45, 48 
 — vascular, 45, 124 
 Ligaments of neck, 211 
 Linea alba, 48 
 Llewellyn, Dr., 158 
 Lockjaw, 270 
 Luck, Mr., horse of, 320 
 Ludgate Hill, 79. 118 
 Lungs of horse, 287 
 ' Lurry ' horses, 77 
 
 ' Maccabees,' 4 
 Mcllquham, Mrs., 270 
 Man without horse, xvii. 
 Manchester roads, 78 
 Mane of the horse, 264 
 Manger, electric, 305 
 — height of, 302 
 Manifesto, important, 235 
 Masters and men, 228 
 Mayhew on clipping, 282 
 Mechanism of walking, 53 
 Memory of horse, 323 
 Men of the caves, 17 
 Metacarpals, 15 
 Metatarsals, 20 
 ' Mill, going through the,' 298 
 Monday morning, 293 
 More happy thoughts, 257 
 Mustangers, 23 
 
 Jackdaw, an unhappy, 2S6 
 ' Jockeying ' the driver, 258 
 John Gilpin, 319 
 J. P., a puzzled, 267 
 
 « Nature,' 201 
 Navicular hone, 41 
 Neck, ligaments of, 211 
 ' Nicking ' the tail, 272 
 Nictitating membrane, 263 
 
 Kettee-drems and Rarey, 250 
 Kindness, rule of, 307 
 ' Knee ' of horse, 11 
 
 Ointments, 95 
 Olecranon, 11 
 ' Orlando,' 4 
 
INDEX. 
 
 OVE 
 
 Over-feeding, 293 
 Overgrown hoofs, 30, 193 
 Overhead-rein, the, 209 
 
 Pad, safety, 74 
 Palmerston, Lord, 234 
 Parkyns, Mansfield, 145 
 ' Pax-wax,' 211 
 Pastern, 15 
 Pelvis, 18 
 Phalanges, 12 
 Pharaoh's chariot, 206 
 Ponies, Exmoor, 24, 153 
 — Indian, 148 
 ' Pricking ' a horse, 105 
 ' Prince,' 182 
 
 Professional Eye, the, 198 
 Pulling ' with a will,' 318 
 
 Racing, Indian, 151 
 
 Radius, 10 
 
 Rails, sloping, 300 
 
 Ransom, Mr. G., invention of, 242 
 
 Rarey's system, 249, 309 
 
 Reciprocal duties, xvii. 
 
 Reclaimed savage, 313 
 
 Review, a, 322, 325 
 
 • Roaring,' 237 
 
 Runaway horses, 233 
 
 ' Running-rein,' 4 
 
 ' Sam ' and his tricks, 331 
 Savages, irreclaimable. 309 
 Savage, a reclaimed, 313 
 'Scaling 'birds, 261 
 Scapula, 9 
 Scotch girls, 144 
 Sea-shoes, 81 
 Sesamoid bones, 42 
 Shaving, 279, 284 
 Shaw, Mr., horse of, 234 
 Shoe, cause of diseases, 197 
 
 J A M 
 
 Shoe, Charlier, 134 
 
 — Clark, 128 
 
 — Goodenough, 127 
 
 — jointed, 128 
 
 — object of, 101 
 
 — parflecke, 103 
 
 — screw, 130 
 
 — straw, 103 
 
 — unilateral, 106, 132 
 
 — weight of, 113 
 Shoeing, hot, 86 
 Shoe-nails, 104, 108 
 Shoes, sea, 81 
 Shoulder-blade, 9 
 
 ' Showing oft*' engines, 222 
 
 — horses, 223 
 
 Sidney, ' Book of the Horse,' 209 
 Singeing, 277 
 Skeleton of horse, 3 
 Slitting birds' tongues, 261 
 Smith, Mr. Herbert, 185 
 Soldiers, 311 
 Soldier, the old, 322 
 Sole, the, 36 
 
 — paring the, 58 
 Spikes, 76 
 Splint bones, 17 
 Spoiling horses, 318 
 
 Spring of railway carriage, 35, 71 
 
 Stables, typical, 289 
 
 Stable windows, 291 
 
 1 Stafford,' 309 
 
 Staffordshire roads, 195 
 
 < Stella,' 164 
 
 Stifle-joint, 19 
 
 Stock, leathern, 279 
 
 Stomach of horse, 292 
 
 — of ox, 292 
 
 — enlarged, 295 
 ' Stopping,' 95 
 Stumbling-, 229 
 
 Tamplin, Mr. C. H., horses of, 
 253 
 
INDEX. 
 
 339 
 
 TA K 
 
 Tarsus, 19 
 
 Tendons, 42 
 
 * Throwing back,' 18 
 
 'Thrush,' 62 
 
 Thunder and lightning, 324 
 
 Tibia, 19 
 
 1 Tommy,' 161 
 
 Tongues partially severed, 237 
 
 Tossing of bead, 217 
 
 Traction engines, 223 
 
 Training, 297 
 
 Tram horses, 174 
 
 Trough-water, height of, 302 
 
 Ulna, 10 
 
 Varnish, natural, 92 
 
 Ventilation, 287 
 
 Veterinary surgeons' manifesto, 
 
 235 
 Vice caused by cruelty, 308 
 ' Vices, stable/ 303 
 
 Walking, mechanism of, 53 
 Wall, the, 29 
 1 War Eagle,' 310 
 Water, purity of, 299 
 Watering horses, 295 
 
 — in America, 296 
 
 — in Turkey, 296 
 Waterton, Charles, 140, 255 
 ' Weaving,' 303 
 Welcome, a horse's, 310 
 Williams, Mr. Theodore E., 182 
 Windows in stables, 291 
 Wing clipping, 285 
 
 Wolf, mode of ' weaving,' 303 
 
 Xenophon on horses, 189 
 Yorkshire regiment, 324 
 Zeal and discretion, 238 
 
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