DISEASES AND TREATMENT OF THE HORSE. 227 



SORE FEET (CHRONIC FOUNDER). 



This is a soreness or a chronic inflammation of the feet. 



Causes. — From hard work, especially driving on hard roads. 

 Horses with small or flat feet are more subject to this than other 

 horses, but any of them are liable to it ; bad shoeing-, letting- the 

 shoe rest too much on the sole will cause it ; standing on a dry 

 floor and the feet becoming- dry, hard and contracted. 



Symptoms. — it generally affects the front feet ; they become 

 hot, dry and very hard, and, in some cases, become contracted at 

 the heels, which is caused from the fever and soreness in the foot. 

 The horse has a peculiar stumbling action, and he tries to step on 

 the heels first ; if you press around the feet with a pincers or your 

 hands the animal will flinch. After a time, from trying to favor 

 his feet, the muscles of the chest will gradually waste away and 

 leave the chest hollow. This must not mislead you and make you 

 think there is anything wrong with the chest. Sometimes when 

 the chest falls away some call it chest founder, but this is a mis- 

 taken idea, for there is no such thing as chest founder, the whole 

 trouble arises in the feet. 



Treatment. — The treatment is not very satisfactory in some 



■cases. If it a valuable animal soak the feet well in warm water 



and salt, in a tub containing six or eight inches of water ; leave 



the feet in the water two or three hours at a time, twice a day ; 



every night put on a hot poultice of half linseed and bran, leave it 



on all night. After the soreness is pretty well out blister around 



the top of the hoof with the following : 



Powdered Cantharides or Spanish Fly 1 dram. 



Vaseline or Lard 1 ounce. 



Mix and apply all of it around the tops of both front feet and 

 turn the horse out to pasture for a long while, grease the blister 

 the third day. After the horse is all right and he is brought in to 

 work again let him stand on a ground floor, for an animal once 

 aff"ected with this disease is more liable to be aff"ected again. Be 

 careful in shoeing ; we recommend the bar shoe. If it is a horse 

 you want to keep shod, and he is not of much value, keep him 

 on a ground floor and pack the feet every night with cow manure, 

 blue clay, or anything that will keep the moisture in the foot, and 

 in very bad cases by blistering and turning out to pasture for a 

 while will help it. 



