THE POINTS OF THE HORSE.* A Romig abounds in "points,"
and most important of all to hie owner are his legs and feet. The utility of man's indis- pensable slave is limited by his limbs ; when these are worn out, how sound soever may be every other point, his usefulness is gone. "No foot, no horse," as Major Fisher has it in his sub-title, and he writes easily and well on the subject, pleading earnestly for more judicious treatment of horses' feet than that which commonly prevails. For there can be no question that horses are often cruelly punished by bad shoeing and ill-fitting shoes, whereby their usefulness is impaired and their lives shortened. Imagine what it must be to wear heavy, tight-fitting iron shoes night and day for years Certain enthusiasts, chief among whom was the late Rev. J. G. Wood, have contended that shoeing is unnecessary, and urged its discontinuance. Yet, save in a few isolated cases, experiments made in that sense have failed. On the other hand, there are countries where horses go unshod for the term of their natural lives, with satisfactory results to all * Tho Points of tho Horse : a Familiar Treatise on Equine Conformation. By )1. Horace Hayes, 2.31.0.V.B., late Captain 'The flue. London W. Thacker and Co.—(2.) The Farrier; or, No Foot, No Horse. By Major A. T. Fisher. London : Richard Bentley and Son. concerned. They are seldom lame, and live two or three times as long as English horses. The present writer once rode on the Danes of Venezuela a beautiful flea-bitten grey, whose legs, though he was past thirty, were as clean and straight as the legs of a colt. But he had never known shoes. Why this should be—how it comes to pass that shoes are a necessity in Europe and a superfluity in Venezuela, and some parts of the United States—Florida, for instance—is a curious question. It cannot arise from the humidity of our climate, for during the rainy season the climate of Venezuela is far more humid than our own. Neither can pavements, or the greater hardness of our roads be the cause. In the hot season, Venezuelan ways are as hard as bricks, and nothing can be more trying for horses' feet than the dry, stone-strewn beds of torrents which in South America often serve as roads. Moreover, at a "bull-tailing" in Caracas, you may see horses galloping through the ill-paved streets, turning sharply, and stopping abruptly, without once "slipping up " or making a false step. In our opinion, though we suggest it only as a working hypothesis, the difference lies in the way of going. In England, horses travel mostly at a trot; in Venezuela and Florida they never trot—the favourite pace in both countries being a swift amble, for good cause. A brisk trot under a tropical or sub-tropical sun would be unpleasant for the horse, and, probably, death or heat-apoplexy for the rider. Now, in trotting, the horse's toe is the first part of his foot to come in contact with the ground, as may be seen by examining a worn shoe. If this part be unprotected it breaks, and the horse falls lame; and unless the heels have also some measure of protection, they are apt to be bruised. Hence the need of shoes for trotting horses. On the other hand, shoes that prevent the frog—which in its natural state is an elastic cushion—from resting on the ground, causes severe concussion, and uses up a horse long before he has reached his prime.
For the avoidance of these evils, as far as may be, Major Fisher recommends the Charlier shoe, which is the next best thing to being altogether shoeless. The shoe in question is a narrow bar of soft steel fixed on a rim cut round the hoof with a special tool, in such sort that the frog comes in contact with the ground, thereby preventing or greatly lessening concus- sion. Another advantage of these shoes is their lightness, and heavy shoes are as unsuitable for a trotting horse as hobnailed boots for a running man. Nevertheless, Charlier shoes should be applied with discretion ; they do not suit thin-soled horses which strike the ground hard with their heels.
We can cordially recommend Major Fisher's little book to all who possess horses and take an interest in their welfare.
The only fault we have to find with it is the absence of diagrams. He writes for neophytes and amateurs ; and without illustrations it is impossible either to explain or understand the anatomy of a horse's foot. No such fault can be found with the handsome volume for which we are indebted to Captain Hayes. Never before has the conformation of the horse been so thoroughly and lucidly described, or a book on the subject so profusely and accurately illustrated. No man could be better fitted for the task, and if natural aptitude and immense capacity for taking pains be proofs of genius, Captain Hayes is unquestionably a genius in equine lore. Besides serving in a cavalry regiment— no bad school for a horseman—he has graduated at the Royal Veterinary College, and studied and assimilated the literature of the subject in divers languages. In order to obtain material for his book, he spent eight years "in hard, practical work among horses in India, Burmah, Ceylon, China, Japan, Egypt, South Africa, England, and elsewhere." Elsewhere is good. His illustrations of "pointe" are not, as may be supposed, drawn from description, or evolved from the inner consciousness of horsey artists. They are the reproduction of instantaneous photographs taken by the author. Some idea of the trouble he has incurred in this regard may be formed from the fact that he has examined six hundred horses belonging to a dealer without discovering a single "point," and the photographic pictures in his book are the outcome of an inspection of no fewer than ten thousand animals. He shows us the horse in every possible position and movement, —trotting, walking, cantering, galloping, drawing heavy loads, and leaping high obstacles, and gives examples both of faulty and faultless conformation. More- over, his comments are lucid:, and instructive, often highly original, and of great scientific value. To review his book at length, or even to give a synopsis of its contents, would exceed the space at our disposal, and it were unpardonable presumption for anybody less well-informed and experienced than the author himself to question. his opinion or criticise his book. But it may be well to observe that, except as touching its more technical parts, The Points of the Horse may easily be understood by the general reader, and will he greatly enjoyed by the amateur, it does not deal, save briefly and incidentally, with the management, training, or health of horses. It is devoted chiefly and almost exclusively to their conformation, methods of progres- sion, adaptability to various sorts of work, and all that relates thereto, and is probably the most complete treatise on these subjects in the English language.
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