01' FARRIERY. 



249 



siwes, &c., injuring the sole of the foot. This 

 stioe should be carefully nailed on, with more 

 than the usual number of nails ; but you must 

 allow for the extra number in the size, as 

 " fives" or " sixes,'' will be sufficiently larg«. 

 This kind of shoe I have found to answer ex- 

 ceedingly well ; but if not, I have used the 

 following shoe : — Piace on a bar-shoe ; but 

 shoulder it down at the quarters, so that it 

 does not touch the crust, or heels behind. 

 From this kind of shoe, I have seen great 

 benefit arise. After having your shoe placed 

 on, smear the sole and crust well, with the 

 following' : — 



Take Alum pul 

 Tar 



2 ounc'gs. 



3 do. 



This application occasionally used, vrill harden 

 the hoof and sole ; for, moiisture in this dis- 

 ease must be strictly avoided, and Horses so 

 affected, should never be turned out to ffrass. 



THRUSH. 



Thrush is so well known to be a disease of 

 the frog of the Horse's foot, that we shall not 

 wade througli a parcel of useless volumes for 

 the origin of the name, though I believe it to 

 be French. 



Hewever, to come to our point ; thrush is 

 defined to be a rupture of the cleft of the frog, 

 from which is discharged a kind of foetid, or 

 ichorous matter, highly disagreeable and 

 offensive. In fact, this complaint consists in a 

 diseased action of the sensible frog ; for, in- 

 stead of secreting that elastic horny substance, 

 composing the healthy frog, it secretes pus, 

 which escapes out between the cleft of the 

 norny frog. 



Some consider this disease as of trifling im- 

 portance, Dut f have seen it of the greatest 



consequence, and I would recommend my 

 readers to be exceedingly cautious how they 

 treat thrush with contempt, though almost 

 every groom has a sovereign remedy for it ; 

 hut he probably looks no further than the seat 

 of disease, not thinking another affection of the 

 foot is proceeding rapidly, as thrush will fre- 

 quently lay the foundation for contraction in 

 the foot, in which it may exist by the excite- 

 ment of the parts around. 



Thrush is frequently produced by mois- 

 ture, and more especially if it be of an acrid 

 tendency, as that of dung, urine, &c. ; but in 

 this case, the hind feet are generally the parts 

 most affected, from the hind feet being more 

 in the dung and urine, which at last becomes 

 a source of irritation to the sensible frog; 

 thus accounting why the hind feet are oftener 

 affected than the fose-feet ; but here is great 

 danger, unless ;^operIy attended to, for it 

 may produce gre^e and canker, if suffered 

 to go on for a length of time. Contraction is 

 a cause of thrush, by squeezing the heets 

 together, until the rupture of the frog takes 

 place ; but it is not a general cause, as there 

 are many contracted feet without thrush at 

 all. The different actions of secreting organs 

 is here made plain; the inflammatory action 

 ffoing: on in sensible laminae, increases the 

 growth of horn, so that the frog never comes 

 in contact with the ground ; this of course 

 promotes contraction, and the contraction rup- 

 tures the froff ; and all for want of what ? 

 more frog-pressure ; for as the frog is de- 

 prived of its n^ivnaX frog-pressnre, so will the 

 heels contract, and so will the frog become 

 decreased ; consequently, diminishing the se- 

 cretion of horny frog. A Horse, with an open 

 thrush, or what is termed a running thrush. { 

 do not consider .safe ; for a stone getting into 

 3 R 



