In North America as no hoof, no horse.
No Foot, No Horse. An essay on the anatomy of the foot of‥a horse.
[1751 J. Bridges (title)]
‘No foot, no horse’ exactly expresses that which I desire to impress on the reader in the following pages. Without the full and perfect use of its feet, the horse is useless.
[1893 A. T. Fisher The Farrier or ‘No Foot, No Horse’ 2]
Shoeing will no longer be regarded as a necessary evil but vital for performance and soundness—and the expression ‘no foot, no horse’ will be a thing of the past.
[1999 G. Williams & M. Deacon No Foot, No Horse 139]
It was while hanging around the barns with a friend who trained horses that I quickly gained an appreciation for the old adage, ‘no hoof, no horse’.
[2001 R. Freeman www.horseshoes.com (web site)]
Related to: horse lore
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
