THE ARMY HORSE. 97 



CONTRACTED FEET. 



Contracted feet is an unnatural shrinking or narrowing of 

 the feet at the heels. Most often seen in the front feet. 



Causes. — Lack of exercise; lack of moisture; thrush; shoes 

 "with bearing web inclining inward at the heels. The practice 

 of using the knife to '' open the heels " usually produces this 

 trouble. 



Treatment. — Ascertain the cause and remove it if possible. 

 The remedy is to secure normal pressure on the frog, bars, and 

 heels. If the feet are extremely dry and hard they may be 

 softened by standing the animal in moist clay or in water. If 

 the character of the ground will permit let the horse go bare- 

 foot ; if not, shoe with the tip, preferably ; otherwise, with the 

 bar shoe. 



DRY FEET. 



Soften the hoofs by thorough soaking in water and then 

 apply cosmoline or linseed oil to prevent the w ater from evap- 

 orating. This should be done daily for a week or two. A 

 thick paste of ground flaxseed and water, packed into the cavity 

 of the foot between the branches of the shoe, or a packing of 

 moist clay, will keep the foot soft. 



COFFIN-JOINT LAMENESS. 



Sprain of the coffin joint results from slipping, stepping 

 upon a rolling stone, stepping into a hole, etc. 



Symptoms. — Shortened gait : pointing of diseased foot ; 

 heat over the region of the coffin joint ; tenderness on pressure. 



Treatment. — Remove the shoe and give the animal complete 

 rest; poultice the foot with flaxseed meal or stand the foot in a 

 tub of cold water; if relief is not obtained in a Aveek, apply a 

 blister of biniodide of mercury, 1 to 5, around the coronet and 

 heels, rubbing it in well over the region of the heels. 



Sprain of the coffin joint, unless carefully nursed, may ter- 

 minate in chronic navicular disease.^ in which the coffin- joint 

 structures and the coffin l)one itself become ulcerated. This 

 disease is incurable. 



If, after navicular disease has developed, it be necessary to 

 keep the horse in the service, the heel of the diseased foot should 

 be elevated by the use of a shoe with calks or with thick heels. 

 The foot should be kept soft with footbaths and poultices and a 

 blister applied when lameness is especially marked. AVlienever 

 possible keep the shoe off during treatment. 



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