DISEASES OF THE FEET. 107 



This will prevent the split from extending higher up. A 

 horse should never be used while suffering from cracked 

 hoof, except for light purposes ; and if the crack is through 

 to the sensitive part, he should have entire rest until quite 

 well. 



The time necessary to heal the crack will depend, of course, 

 upon its extent and depth. The hoof will grow out a little 

 more than half an inch per month. By simply measuring 

 the length of the crack, any one can compute the length of \ I 



time it will require to complete the cure. Meantime, if the 

 adhesive cloths come off, put on others. In some cases it ^ 



may be well to put on the shoe. In quarter cracks they 

 should always be fastened together at the bottom with a nail 

 or rivet. 



HOOF ROT. 



«. 



What is generally known as tender feet is one of the most 

 common afflictions to which the horse is subject. No animal 

 has tender feet unless they are diseased or worn off. When 

 in a healthy condition, the hoof is very hard and tough, 

 having a bluish or limestone color, and is admirably adapted 

 by ITature to resist the injurious effects of the severe con- 

 cussions which they necessarily undergo. Instead of the term 

 " tender feet," it would be more correct and explicit to use 

 that of " hoof rot." This is what the disease really is. By 

 the operation of a kind of dry rot, which produces a feverish ^ 



state of all the parts, the hoof and bottom of the foot decays 

 or perishes away. The primary cause is a diseased condition 

 of the feet and legs. 



* Hoof rot is found in connection with spavin, ring-bone, 

 swinney, foot evil, and often with the disease of the navicu- 

 lar joint. It seldom fails to accompany chronic founder. 

 While these diseases often occasion hoof rot, they, upon the 

 other hand, are as frequently excited and brought on by it;. . f- 



and, in a majority of cases, spavin, ring-bone, and foot evil 

 would not occur were it not for this predisposing cause. 

 When the spavin or coffin -joint is injured, the horse would: 



s 



