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She seemed to know that the frozen crust of the old drifts just beneath the loose snow was perilous. But her sharpened calks gave her a grip on the frozen snow that the wise mare quickly understood. She lengthened her stride. She gathered speed. And once getting her usual swift gait, with expanded nostrils and erect ears, she skimmed over the frozen way as a swallow skims the air.
One threw down his burden and executed a brief clog. Splinters flew where the sharp calks bit into the wharf planking, and his companions applauded.
For the most part the climbing-irons gave us sufficient footing, but here and there we came to softer snow, where they would not take sufficient hold and we had to cut steps. The calks in these climbing-irons were about an inch and a quarter long; we wished they had been two inches. The creepers are a great advantage in the matter of speed, but they need long points.
But maybe they'll soon find that the de'il's as hard a taxer as e'er the kirk was; for ever since thou has refraint frae paying penance, thy weekly calks ahint the door ha'e been on the increase, Jamie, and no ae plack has thou mair to spare. So muckle gude thy reforming has done thee."
On city streets, horses shod with shoes having long calks get caught in frogs of street railways or by slipping on rails, and phalangeal bones are often broken. Symptomatology. Fracture of the phalanges is nearly always signalized by lameness, and this is marked during the period of weight bearing.
They are not so safe as step-cutting, and there is the ever-present danger that unless one is exceedingly careful one will step upon the rope with them and their sharp calks sever some of the strands. They were, however, of great assistance and saved a deal of laborious step-cutting.
Perhaps you think it is done off-hand. Well, it isn't. Ask any experienced draught-horse used to city trucking. He will tell you that wet cobble-stones, smoothed by much wear and greased with street slime, cannot be travelled heedlessly. Either the heel or the toe calks must find a crevice somewhere. If they do not, you are apt to go on your knees or slide on your haunches.
Twenty-four hours to sharpen their horses' calks and tighten up their cinches, and Irvine was on the trail again en route for Fort Carlton, where he learned serious disturbances were threatening. Arrived at Fort Carlton in the afternoon of the same day, the Commissioner found there a company of men, sad, grim and gloomy.
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.
Ain't I saw you before, Miss?" said Hunchie, staring at Betty. "At Mr. Bolter's?" "Yes, yes!" cried Betty. "Can the mare travel on this hard snow?" "Yes, ma'am. I didn't draw the calks for I exercised 'er each d'y, I did. I didn't want 'er to fall. An' now I failed myself!" The two girls looked at each other significantly. Ida was easily led out of the room. Betty put the question to her.
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