The only real inconvenience under which the ponies seemed to labor, arose from tender feet, for, the rocky trails in the mountains rapidly wore away, and broke off their hoofs.  This continued, so that at last, reaching the matrix of these horny growths, their feet became very sensitive.  Many of the Mexicans had taken the precaution to guard against this, before leaving the towns and military posts which lay on their route.  They had obtained horse-shoes, with which they shod the ponies.  We remember seeing a large party of them thus engaged as blacksmiths.  It was at night; while some held burning torches, others were busy with hammers, stones and hatchets in applying all sorts and sizes of horse and mule shoes, with which they were content, provided they approached the diameters of the hoofs to which they were to be nailed.  Strange to say, this rough work answered the purpose, and but few, if any, of the animals so shod, went lame.  After the command had got under full headway, if any of these ponies became so tender in their feet as to be able to travel only with great difficulty, their riders resorted to other expedients for relieving them.  When practicable, they obtained the fresh hides of the beef cattle as they were killed, and, binding the material around the injured feet, and making it fast about the fetlocks, they allowed it to dry on.  In the morning, thus protected, the horse could journey on.  It is customary regularly to shoe these ponies only on the fore feet, as the weight of the animal’s head and neck, together with that of the rider, comes harder on these hoofs and causes them, when traveling over sharp rocks, to wear away quickly.  It seldom happens that the hind feet become tender.  The Indians cannot understand the policy of this, and one of them philosophizing on the subject, while visiting the blacksmith’s shop attached to a military post, made the remark in Spanish, after apparently having been for some little time engaged in a deep study, “that it was not right.”  Said he, “The horse, with his eyes, can see where to put his fore feet when traveling over bad places, but he cannot do this with those behind; therefore, you white men ought to put the moccasins there.”  The Mexicans had so much confidence in the powers of endurance of their ponies while out on this campaign, that they hesitated not to run them on races, whenever circumstances and the site of the camp would permit such pastime.  The only training required for these trials of speed, consisted in the rider foregoing the pleasure of riding for a day or two, in order to allow his horse to recruit.  As their walking did not in the least interfere with the order of the march, they of course were permitted to race as they pleased, for their services on the march are just as valuable on foot.