138 THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 



and fit the shoe quite wide for a foundation to spread 

 upon. I have practised this way for the last eight or ten 

 years, and have never known a case to fail if the owners 

 follow^ed my instructions in taking- care of the horses. — 

 Bij K.Y. Dudley. 



Contracted Feet — Poulticing. 



In my practice as horseshoer I have found that in many 

 cases, if not a majority, contraction is the cause of stumbling, 

 overreaching, interfering, etc. We can shoe and help 

 matters, but if we will at the same time soften and expand 

 the foot we can effect a permanent cure, for when the foot 

 is contracted, no treatment will cure the muscles that 

 move the leg, because contraction of the foot is nearly 

 always accompanied by w^asting of the muscles of the breast, 

 arm and shoulder, thereby bringing about an unnatural 

 action. 



Stand in front of the horse, and notice the quarters of the 

 hoof; if they incline dowuAvard and inward, the hoof is con- 

 tracted. The natural warmth of the hoof is the same as the 

 air, and if the foot is warmer, it is not healthy. If the 

 horse is lame, you Avill find the foot hard ; pull off the shoe 

 and let the owner soak the animal's feet in flaxseed m.eal, 

 made with boiling water like mush. Put in this poultice a 

 little sal soda and let the feet remain poulticed twenty-four 

 hours. If the horse must be shod first, before the poultice 

 is applied, pull off the shoes, examine the feet to see if there 

 are an^^ corns ; if there are none and there is a large amount 

 of hoof, remove some of it, so that the slope of the hoof is 

 like the slope of the fetlock. Should the heels be low do 

 »ot make them any lower ; open them up, but not enougli 

 to bring the blood, weaken the hoof a little between the 

 bars and the x)oint of the frog, and open deeply backward 



