Page:Horses and roads.djvu/111

 Rh succession of very steep rough hills or “tors,” and rugged “combes,” strewed 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 steep sides of the combes, or down and up. It is a pretty sight to see them, especially in the spring, with the foals by their sides.’

Mayhew says of the shod horse: ‘As the shoe alone rests upon the earth, of course the hoof lacks needful attrition.’ The attrition or friction caused by exercising the unshod animal on hard roads is salutary to the whole foot, because it acts as a natural stimulant to circulation and secretion, not causing a ‘mere splutter of vitality ’ that is of no lasting worth, but making the horn ‘to thicken and accommodate itself to its task, like the skin of a blacksmith’s hand.’ Youatt says:  ‘The horn answers to the skin of the human foot.’ Magistrates examine the hands of vagrants:  and, by their hardness or softness, judge whether they have bonâ-fide ‘frozen-out gardeners’ before them, or professional beggars. Gardeners and navvies neither wear gloves nor pad their spade handles, although the bottom or forward hand comes down and slides on a roughly riveted iron strap. The hoof of the horse cannot be looked upon as being of a more delicate nature than a man’s hand.

Besides the advantage of attrition being gained by the removal of the shoes, expansion and contraction which play so prominent a part in the general