DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 495 



click when in low condition and over-worked do not do so when they g:iiu 

 strength. 



1002. Over-reach. 



Over-reach is the result of a blow struck by the under inner posterior 

 edge of the too of the hind shoe. The injury is not occasioned by the 

 anterior, but by the under inner posterior edge of the hind shoe. It 

 usually occurs in deep ground, when the raising of the fore-hand is some- 

 what delayed ; or it may occur in the act of springing for a leap, when 

 the hind quarters are very suddenly advanced. 



The remedy is easy, and in almost all cases effectual. It consists in 

 thoroughly roundint;: off the tinder inner posterior edge of the toe of the 

 hind shoe. This edge should be completely sloped off from front to rear 

 or made " half round " on the anvil before the shoe is put on. It cannot 

 be effectually done afterwards. The edge can be cut off by the rasp in 

 the anvil, but it is more easily and completely done by a little tool made 

 for the purpose. Kound-toed hind shoes should always be used for 

 hunting. 



When this precaution is taken, a blow may notwithstanding be struck 

 on the heel of the fore-foot by the hind shoe ; but it will not be of so 

 severe a nature as to amount to the injury known as over-reach. (Plate 

 5.3, fig. 14, under inner posterior edge rounded off; fig. 15, edge left 

 sharp.) 



1003. Leather. 



■ Leather is not needed as a protection to the sole in a healthy foot, 

 unless Nature's leather, i. e. the sole itself, has been removed by paring. 

 » There are, however, cases in which, for a time at least, leather is 

 useful. In cases of pricks or picking up a nail, it is necessary to remove 

 a considerable portion of the sole, in order to allow a free exit for the 

 matter which will form under the sole in consequence of the injury. 

 Here leather will be useful as a protection against sharp stones in lieu 

 of the portion of the sole removed. A horse so protected can be put to 

 work some days sooner than he could otherwise be worked. 



1004. Stopping. 



The non-paring of the sole obviates the necessity of the old-fashioned 

 practice of stopping the feet. The supposed object of stopping is to 

 keep, or rather to make the sole moist and soft. Nature vrill do this 

 better than art, if the natural outer covering of the sole be not removed. 



1005. Treads. 



Treads are injuries of the coronary band or coronet, generally inflicted 



Lby the shoe of the other foot in turning, backing, or shying, and very 

 rarely by a tramp from another horse. 

 Treads are most common in the hind feet, especially when horses are 



