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 the animal calking himself with it. I have carefully observed the different effect of shoes, while with troops on the march. I accompanied the Seventh Infantry, in 1858, in its march to Cedar Valley, in Utah, a distance of fourteen hundred miles, and noticed that scarcely a man who wore regulation shoes had a blister on his feet, while the civilians, who did not, were continually falling out, and dropping to the rear, from the effects of narrow and improper shoes and boots. The same is the case with the animal. The foot must have something flat and broad to bear on. The first care of those having charge of mules, should be to see that their feet are kept in as near a natural state as possible. Then, if all the laws of nature be observed, and strictly obeyed, the animal's feet will last as long, and be as sound in his domestic state as he would be in a state of nature.