30« THE HORSE. 



contraction is given, and toe sole must suffer in two ways, in being p e:sed 

 upon by the siioe,'and being squeezed between the outer crust and the 

 external portion of the bar. The shoe is often made unnecessarily narrow 

 at the heels, by wliich this angle, seemingly less disposed to bear pressure 

 than any other part of the foot, is exposed to accidental bruises. If, in the 

 paring out of the foot, the smith should leave the bars prominent, he too 

 frequently neglects to pare away the horn in the angle between the bars 

 and the external crust ; or, if he cuts away the bars, he scarcely touches 

 the horn at this point ; and thus, before the horse has been shod a fortnight, the 

 shoe rests on this angle, and produces corns. The use of a shoe for the 

 fore-feet, thickened at the heels, is, and especially in weak feet, a source 

 of corns, from the undue bearing there is on the heels, and the concussion 

 to which they are subject. 



The unshod colt rarely has corns. The heels have their natural power 

 of expansion, and the sensible-sole at this part can scarcely be imprisoned, 

 while the projection of the heel of the crust and the bar is a sufficient 

 defence from external injury. Corns seem to be, to a certain degree, the 

 almost inevitable consequence of shoeing, which, by limiting, or in a man- 

 ner destroying, the expansibility of the foot, must, when the sole attempts 

 to descend, or the coffin-bone has a backward and downward direction 

 (see cut, p. 249), imprison and injure this portion of the sole; and this evil 

 consequence is increased when the shoe is badly formed, or kept on toe 

 long, or when the paring is omitted or injudiciously extended to the bars. 

 By this unnatural pressure of the sole, blood is thrown out, and enters into 

 the pores of the soft and diseased horn which is then secreted : therefore, 

 we judge of the existence and extent of the corn by the colour and soft- 

 ness of the horn at this place. 



The cure is difficult; for as all shoeing has some tendency to produce 

 pressure here, it is difficult to get rid of the habit of throwing out this dis- 

 eased horn when it is once contracted. 



The first thing to be done is well to pare out the angle between the crust 

 and the bars. Two objects are answered by this : the extent of the disease 

 will be ascertaine-d, and one cause of it removed. A very small drawing, 

 knife must be used for this purpose. The corn must be pared out to the 

 very bottom, taking care not to wound the sole. It will then be discovered 

 whether there be any effusion of blood or matter underneath. If this 

 be suspected, an opening must be made through the horn, the matter 

 evacuated, the separated horn taken away, the course and extent of the 

 sinuses explored, and the treatment recommended for quittor adopted. 

 Should there be no collection of fluid, the butyr of antimony should be 

 applied over the whole extent of the corn, after the horn has been thinned 

 as closely as possible. The object of this is to stimulate the sole to throw 

 out more healthy horn. In bad cases, a bar-shoe may be put on, so 

 chambered, that tiiero shall be no pressure on the diseased part. This may 

 be worn for one or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there are few frogs 

 that would bear the constant pressure of the bar-shoe; and the want of the 

 pressure on the heel, generally occasioned by their use, would produce a 

 softened and bulbous state of the heels, which would of itself be an inevi- 

 table source of lameness. 



In the great majority of cases, the corn is either confined to the inner 

 quarter of the foot or crust. That this should be the case may be easily 

 imagined, from what we have said of contraction being most frequent in 

 the inner quarter. The shoe, unfettered on the inner side, may, in corn on 

 that side, be applied with great benefit, if the country be not too heavy, or 

 the pace required from the horse too great. 



