91 



CHAPTER XL 



BRITTLE HOOF AND THE TREATMENT IT GETS THE 'WATER- 

 CURE' MORE EFFECTIVE BRITTLE HOOF OFTEN LEADS TO 

 SANDCRACK, SEEDY TOE, AND PUMICE FOOT HARD ROADS 

 ARE FAVOURABLE TO THE UNSHOD HOOF. 



BRITTLE hoof is so common that all perhaps are 

 alive to some of the vexations it causes. But 

 only when it gets very advanced is it taken in 

 hand, and it is then treated by some kind of * hoof 

 ointment,' joined to ' stoppings ' of various kinds, 

 with a blister, mercurial ointment, or a stimulating 

 liniment applied over the coronet. The first two 

 only aggravate the disease. 



Mr. Douglas says : * The rules for keeping a horse's 

 feet healthy, and preserving the horn, are to use 

 nothing but water to the hoofs either as a cleanser 

 or an ornamenter ; and never allow horses to stand 

 upon litter during the day. Grease or tar, by 

 shutting up the pores in the horn, prevent the 

 natural moisture from reaching the surface out- 

 wardly, and the air from circulating inwards con- 

 sequences which act upon the horn with ruinous 

 results.' Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett has, within 

 the last few weeks, expressed his opinion of grease 



