Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/216

203 HOW TO CARE FOR A HORSE. 2G3 iag his master by the slightest indication of the thighs and knees, for a number of years he has be- come used to the clash of armor and swicoutrements, whereas on' the other hand, all others have only known service since the beginning of the expedition, and have never been trained to sTich an ordeal as is about to take place. But although our young soldier feels quite confident, yet he knows the necessity of preparation, therefore he instructs Monte and Yso- pete to take every care of his favorite, and to grind a few ears of corn each day, and be careful not to feed too much, as that would do more harm than good; also he tells his boys not to let others know, of their actions. Alonso superintended tiie currying, or rath- er the rubbing, of his pet, but there is (me thhig he is in a quandary about, and thait is, his horse has no shoes, and he has observed how easy his feet slip from under him on the grass; and it is a fact, if a horse is used on the prairie without "shoes his hoofs will get so smooth that in pulling a load it will soone- times be very troublesome, especially to start a loaded wagon, so our second-in-command, realizing the disadvantage he would be at because of his horse not being sure-footed, resorts to a scheme for the purpose of roughing up the hoofs, so he has Monte carry water and empty under the feet of the animal, making soft black mud. This is very beneficial to any horse's feet, but for the purpose desired to accom- phsh in this instance it was just the thing; and to be on the safe side, the hoofs were scraped with a rough flint stone to make the edges sharp so they would hold to the grass. In the Kansas State Historical