30 HORSE-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS. 



acid, diluted with twice the quantity of water, and insert it 

 into the cleft of the frog until the foul smell disappears, and 

 the frog itself begins to grow again. Burnt alum is also of 

 great use here. I may add, that I have treated a horse success- 

 fully with a common vinegar wash, followed by a plentiful 

 application of powdered charcoal. 



Sand Crack is a crack extending from the top of the hoof, 

 downwards. The cause is an inherent weakness in the hoof 

 itself, and no indication may be given of the crack till it 

 actually appears. A firing-iron should be passed pretty deeply 

 above (if possible) and below it, to prevent it lengthening ; the 

 horse should be rested, and the horn encouraged to grow, by 

 the application of tar and tallow to the top of the hoof. A 

 plaister, formed by tarring the hoof, and then binding strips of 

 strong calico over it, and tarring the hoof over again, will be 

 needful as a protective measure if the case is a bad one. 



Sometimes the crack is a very slight one, and does not 

 penetrate through the horn. Here a daily application of olive 

 oil will be sufficient to induce it to close up again. 



Corns. — These are caused by an extravasation of blood below 

 the horn. All pressure must be removed from the part, and 

 the horn pared away by the smith. When this is done, thin 

 stains of the extravasated blood will be visible. The corn 

 will generally reappear at the end of three weeks or a month, 

 and must be again pared down. Should there be any effusion 

 of blood or matter in the lower part of the sole — this will 

 be readily discoverable when the corn is pared out — it must 

 be allowed to escape, and then the part be treated with lunar 

 caustic. A bar shoe will be found excellent in these cases 

 for taking the pressure off the seat of pain. 



In closing this chapter, just as a parting word of advice 

 I would say. Do not keep a medicine chest ; you will be 

 tempted to physic when there is no need, and many of your 

 drugs will not be efiScacious unless they are fresh. In the 

 ordinary course of things, horses get on well enough without 

 doctoring ; if they can do without it, so much the better. Do 

 not forget the old saying, which tells us that physicking at 

 large consists in ''putting drugs of which we know little 

 into bodies of which we know less." In this respect medicine 

 is very unlike surgery ; the latter is a science, the former is not. 



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