When a muddy horse comes into the stable it is a great temptation to play the hose on his legs, and so wash the mud off. This should never be done. The only places where water should be applied to a horse are the feet and the other hairless portions. These should be washed with a sponge. The washing of a horse’s feet before he is put away is most important. “No foot, no horse” is the old English rule. And it is as true as gospel. The feet should always be kept clean in the stable, and at night they should be packed with sponge or felt. The foot of a horse is an important part of him, and every owner should see that they are well looked after. And in accomplishing this he will not find it an easy job, for a horse has to have his shoes changed every three or four weeks, and if the feet be not ruined by the farrier or the fads of his groom or coachman then he is lucky. Every man that has anything to do with horses sooner or later develops notions as to horseshoeing, the blacksmith usually knowing much less than any one else but confident that he knows it all. He should know it all, as to shoe horses is his business. As a matter of fact, however, his practice, if he be permitted to have his own sweet will, is to lame horses and ruin their feet. There are a few good horse-shoers, however, and if an owner find one in his neighborhood he is lucky. I shall not attempt, however, to write a treatise on horseshoeing. There are books in abundance on the subject, and any man who wishes to become an accomplished amateur on the subject can find plenty to study and also an abundance of instruction. But there are a few principles that dominate all else. The shoe should be neither too large nor too small. A large shoe stretches the hoof too much, a small shoe pinches the hoof and makes corns. Then do not permit the blacksmith to pare the sole and frog of the foot or rasp or burn the hoof to make it fit the shoe he has selected. The shoe should be made to fit the hoof, and as few nails used as is consistent with security. As the hoof is growing all the time, just as a man’s finger-nails grow, the shoes need often to be changed so that they will not be too small and so contract the hoof. The ideal horse is the barefoot horse, but this is not possible when a horse is used on pavements or hard roads. Then the shoe should not be too heavy. Heavy shoes merely make a horse’s work very much harder.