field for gaining practical knowledge
concerning the diseases, especially of the feet, with which horses and
mules are afflicted. During the late war, when so little care was given
to animals in the field, when they were injured in every conceivable
manner, and by all sorts of accidents, the veterinary found a field for
study such as has never been opened before.

Experience has taught me, that common sense is one of the most essential
things in the treatment of a horse's foot. You must remember that
horses' feet differ as well as men's, and require different treatment,
especially in shoeing. You must shoe the foot according to its
peculiarity and demands, not according to any specific "system of shoe."
Give the ground surface a level bearing, let the frog come to the
ground, and the weight of the mule rest on the frog as much as any other
part of the foot. If it project beyond the shoe, so much the better.
That is what it was made for, and to catch the weight on an elastic
principle. Never, under any circumstances, cut it away. Put two nails in
the shoe on each side, and both forward of the quarters, and one in the
toe, directly in front of the foot. Let those on the sides be an inch
apart, then you will be sure not to cut and tear the foot. Let the nails
and nail-holes be small, for they will then aid in saving the foot. It
will still further aid in saving it by letting the nails run well up
into the hoof, for that keeps the shoe steadier on the foot. The hoof is
just as thick to within an inch of the top, and is generally sounder,
and of a better substance, than it is at the bottom. Keep the first
reason for shoeing apparent in your mind always--that you only shoe your
mule because his feet will not stand the roads without it. And whenever
you can, shoe him with a shoe exactly the shape of his foot. Some
blacksmiths will insist on a shoe, and then cutting and shaping the foot
to it. The first or central surface of the hoof, made hard by the
animal's own peculiar way of traveling, indicates the manner in which he
should be shod. All the art in the world cannot improve this, for it is
the model prepared by nature. Let the shoes be as light as possible, and
without calks if it can be afforded, as the mule always travels unsteady
on them. The Goodenough shoe is far superior to the old calked shoe, and
will answer every purpose where holding is necessary. It is also good in
mountainous countries, and there is no danger of