Common Diseases of the Horse 251 



Burnt Sole 



Burnt sole is caused by leaving the hot shoe too long in contact 

 with the horn, the heat thereby penetrating to the sensitive sole, or 

 ' quick ", beneath. The injury may be slight or severe, and in the 

 latter case separation may be caused between the horny and sen- 

 sitive soles. 



Sy7nptoms. — The horn will be found to be discoloured and burnt, 

 and pain is caused by pressure. 



Treatment. — The horn must not be pared with the knife; hot 

 poultices should be applied, and rest allowed. If the burn is of a 

 severe nature, it may take several weeks to heal. 



Brushing, Cutting, or Interfering 



These are the terms used to indicate an injury to the inside 

 of the fetlock joint which is inflicted by the opposite foot. It is 

 commonly attributed to faulty shoeing or overprominence of the 

 offending wall, and here a grave error is often made. In nine cases 

 out of ten the fault arises from greenness and lack of condition in 

 young horses and debility in older ones. A young horse in break- 

 ing, and when first put to work, very frequently " brushes "; but 

 the fault ceases when he becomes fit and accustomed to regular 

 work. A tired horse, or those slovenly driven with the reins on 

 their back and not up to the bit, are frequent sufferers. 



The remedy then lies in seeing that the horse is in proper 

 condition, fit for his work, and well shod. Young horses which are 

 affected should wear a fetlock pad or " boot ". This consists in 

 wrapping a piece of horse cloth or felt round the fetlock, tying with 

 a piece of tape, and turning the top part down. If brushing has 

 previously occurred, the parts will be more or less swollen, so that 

 the tape requires to be tight, as work soon reduces the swelling, 

 and if not securely tied the boot will slip down over the foot. 



Faulty shoeing as an occasional cause has to be dealt with, 

 and a properly-applied and well-fitting shoe is usually all that is 

 required to relieve this condition. It occurs commonly in the hind 

 limbs, from the fact of their being more frequently shod with 

 calkins. The removal of these and the application of a flat shoe 

 is very often the remedy. As a rule, when brushing is noticed the 

 owner sends straight away to the smithy to have the shoes altered, 

 and various methods are adopted to cure the complaint. Except 

 in cases of defective conformation causing faulty action, cutting 

 or rasping away the foot and altering a well-fitting shoe is calcu- 

 lated to do little good, and is never to be recommended. It 



