is then manifest.
The only possible relief from these complications is in natural action. Contraction is not present, but we want circulation, new growth and absorption; we obtain it by dressing the foot smoothly with the rasp and putting the bearing evenly upon the frog and a light shoe, which should be merely a continuation of the wall of the foot. Many very bad cases shod in this way have been relieved. No grease or tar should ever be used.
This miserable condition of the abused animal is Nature's fiercest protest against the ignorance and carelessness of man. A horse set upon heavy shoes, and those armed with calks at toe and heel, such as are usually inflicted upon large draft-horses, has his whole weight placed upon the unsupported sole. The frog never comes in contact with the earth in any way, inflammation of the sensitive frog and sole takes place, and the arch of the sole bends down under the pressure until the ground surface of the hoof becomes flat or convex, bulging down even lower than the cruel iron that clamps its edge. This is the condition of a drop sole. This degenerate state of the foot has other complications. Active inflammation is often present and all the wretchedness of a pumiced foot the despair of owner and veterinary is experienced. The smith, whose clumsy contrivance has been the cause of all the woe, has abundant reasons to offer for the disease, and his unfailing resort of the "Bar Shoe." This atrocious fetter is supplemented with leather pads, sometimes daubed with tar, and the horse hobbles to his task. Not unfrequently the crust at the front of the hoof sinks in, adhering to the sole; circulation being cut off,
The cause of this defect is the same as in quarter crack. It appears in both fore and hind feet. Clean the crack well, cutting with a sharp knife the dead horn from each side of it; shoe as advised for quarter crack, or for the purpose of getting expansion and natural action of the dead, shelly hoof. The dirt and sand may be kept out of the crack by filling it with balsam of fir, or pine pitch. Keep the horse at regular work.
QUARTER CRACK HALF SHOE.
This disease, usually attributed to "heat," "dry weather," "weak feet," etc., is one of the common symptoms of contraction, and can be entirely cured with the greatest ease; nor will it ever recur if the hoof is kept in proper condition.
If the case is recent, shoe as advised in our paragraph upon "Incipient Unsoundness," being sure to cut the heel well down, putting the bearing fully upon the frog and three-quarters of the foot. If the hoof is weak from long contraction and defective circulation, lower the heels and whole wall, until the frog comes well upon the ground, and shoe with a "slipper," or "tip," made by cutting off a light shoe just before the middle calk, drawing it down and lowering the toe-calk partially. This will seem dangerous to those who have not tried it, but it is not so. The horse may flinch a little at first, from his unaccustomed condition, and from the active life that will begin to stir in his dry, hard, and numb foot, but he will enjoy the change. The healing of the crack will be from the coronet down, and it is good practice to cut with a sharp knife just above the split, and to clean all dirt and dead substance out from the point where you cut, downwards. Soaking the feet in water will facilitate a cure by quickening the growth of the hoof; or, a stimulating liniment may be applied to the coronet, to excite more active growth. Bear in mind that expansion is not from the sole upwards, but from the coronet downwards.
Quarter crack full shoe.
When simple contraction shown in the narrow heel, dried and shrunken frog, and "pegging" motion of the horse is the case, our design is at once to restore the natural action of the foot. This must be done by expansion, and that is to be had from frog-pressure, according to the directions in the preceding chapters. If navicular disease has commenced, and the animal is decidedly lame, we have a difficult case. The membrane of this important bone, in some cases of contraction, becomes ulcerated, and the bone itself may be decayed, or adhesion between the coffin-bone and the navicular and pastern may take place. Without expansion there is no possibility of relief; local bleeding, poulticing, and all the drastic drugs of the veterinary will be invoked in vain.
It may seem superfluous to say that the power and action of the horse are greatly restricted by contraction.
The cartilaginous fibre that forms the bulk of the substance of the foot behind the great back sinew is squeezed into narrow space, the working of the joints compressed, and inflammation at the joints, or at the wings of the coffin-bone, is excited; in worse cases navicular disease is established, or, from inadequate circulation, thrush holds possession at the frog, or scratches torment the heels.
Foot, with shell removed.
Contraction, in a greater or less degree, is exhibited by all horses, of every grade, that have been shod in the common way, except in those more unfortunate cases that have resulted in a breaking of the arch of the foot, from lack of the natural frog support, when the phenomena of "dropped sole" are found, and the usual accompaniment of "pumiced feet."
