HUNTERS 171 



is impinging upon it sufficiently to make the 

 horse go tender. 



The rim round the sole, composed of the long 

 fibres of the horn, would naturally be worn 

 gradually away through the friction with the 

 ground, if it was not protected by the shoe ; and 

 it was from this that Mr. Charlier founded his 

 system of shoeing. It is the best system in 

 practice that has ever been devised, only it 

 requires such care in doing it cannot be trusted 

 to an ordinary smith. 



A " sandcrack " consists of a splitting of the 

 fibres from the bottom of the hoof upwards. The 

 remedy for this is a horizontal incision above the 

 apex of the sandcrack, to prevent the lesion 

 extending higher up the hoof ; and also using a 

 bar shoe, instead of the ordinary one, to prevent 

 as far as possible any extension of the hoof, for 

 in spite of its unyielding appearance the horny 

 box does contract and expand to a slight degree, 

 each time the weight comes upon it in progres- 

 sion. A mild blister round the coronet should 

 also be applied, to stimulate the production of 

 stronger fibres, and then nothing more can be 

 done without veterinary assistance, if the above 

 means fail ; and patience must be exercised until 

 the crack gradually disappears on reaching the 

 bottom of the hoof. It takes from ten months to 

 a year for the whole hoof to be reproduced from 

 the coronary band. 



Another disease of the fibrous horn is that of 

 " seedy toe." A hollow is formed underneath 

 the superficial covering, which is not visible to 

 the eye, and the horn is gradually eaten away by 

 some of the invisible organisations of which we 

 hear so much nowadays. If not checked, the 



