

THE HORSE. 23 



coronet, between hair and hoof, and passing down 

 towards the bottom of the foot. Attention should be 

 paid to this the moment it is discovered, when the 

 requisite treatment and two or three days' rest will 

 enable the horse to go sound in his work. In a few 

 days the bandages may be taken off. The horse will 

 most probably remain free from sand-crack till about the 

 same time in the following year, when, unless strict 

 attention is paid to it, he may throw another. While 

 the sand-crack is in existence the animal is UNSOUND. 



When cured, he may be warranted as sound ; but so 

 long as the hoof is unsightly from the cure, it is a tem- 

 porary BLEMISH. 



Where any marks of the sand-crack still remain at 

 the time of the warranty being taken, in order to render 

 the seller more secure, it would be advisable to make 

 this disease an exception. 



The horse is not returnable if he throws one or more 

 of these fissures immediately after becoming the property 

 of the purchaser, because he is considered SOUND until 

 they are formed. Dry, brittle, thin hoofs are the most 

 subject to this disease, particularly where the action is 

 high and the weather dry and sharp. Attention, with 

 slight stimulants, will do much to strengthen these 

 hoofs, and render them less subject to cracks. Should 

 these cracks be neglected till sand and dirt find their 

 way through the fissure, they become troublesome to heal, 

 and are frequently the cause of permanent lameness. 





