Whilst Antonio was engaged in treating his friends, I led the horses to the stable; this was through the house, inn, or whatever it might be called.  The stable was a wretched shed, in which the horses sank to their fetlocks in mud and puddle.  On inquiring for barley, I was told that I was now in Galicia, where barley was not used for provender, and was very rare.  I was offered in lieu of it Indian corn, which, however, the horses ate without hesitation.  There was no straw to be had; coarse hay, half green, being the substitute.  By trampling about in the mud of the stable my horse soon lost a shoe, for which I searched in vain.  “Is there a blacksmith in the village?” I demanded of a shock-headed fellow who officiated as ostler.

Ostler.—­Si, Senhor; but I suppose you have brought horse-shoes with you, or that large beast of yours cannot be shod in this village.

Myself.—­What do you mean?  Is the blacksmith unequal to his trade?  Cannot he put on a horse-shoe?

Ostler.—­Si, Senhor; he can put on a horse-shoe if you give it him; but there are no horse-shoes in Galicia, at least in these parts.

Myself.—­Is it not customary then to shoe the horses in Galicia?

Ostler.—­Senhor, there are no horses in Galicia, there are only ponies; and those who bring horses to Galicia, and none but madmen ever do, must bring shoes to fit them; only shoes of ponies are to be found here.

Myself.—­What do you mean by saying that only madmen bring horses to Galicia?

Ostler.—­Senhor, no horse can stand the food of Galicia and the mountains of Galicia long, without falling sick; and then if he does not die at once, he will cost you in farriers more than he is worth; besides, a horse is of no use here, and cannot perform amongst the broken ground the tenth part of the service which a little pony mare can.  By the by, Senhor, I perceive that yours is an entire horse; now out of twenty ponies that you see on the roads of Galicia, nineteen are mares; the males are sent down into Castile to be sold.  Senhor, your horse will become heated on our roads, and will catch the bad glanders, for which there is no remedy.  Senhor, a man must be mad to bring any horse to Galicia, but twice mad to bring an entero, as you have done.

“A strange country this of Galicia,” said I, and went to consult with Antonio.

It appeared that the information of the ostler was literally true with regard to the horse-shoe; at least the blacksmith of the village, to whom we conducted the animal, confessed his inability to shoe him, having none that would fit his hoof:  he said it was very probable that we should be obliged to lead the animal to Lugo, which, being a cavalry station, we might perhaps find there what we wanted.  He added, however, that the greatest part of the cavalry soldiers were mounted on the ponies of the country, the mortality amongst the horses brought from the level ground into Galicia being frightful.  Lugo was ten leagues distant:  there seemed, however, to be no remedy at hand but patience, and, having refreshed ourselves, we proceeded, leading our horses by the bridle.