SHOEING BAD FEET. 



113 



injury caused does not cease witli the pain and lameness 

 wliicli follow, and wliicli may be temporary. Doubtless, 

 the original cause of a sandcrack is some morbid condi- 

 tion of the coronary band — the band from which the 

 ■wall grows. The sensitive lamina? are at first not affected 



further than by the inflamma- 

 tion consequent upon the direct 

 tearing which occurs when the 

 crack takes place. The con- 

 tinued irritation, kept up by a 

 persistent fissure in the horn 

 covering the laminae, soon 

 causes other serious changes 

 which tend to make the sand- 

 crack a permanent disease. 

 Thus, even the smallest crack 

 should be attended to and 

 measures adopted to prevent its 

 enlargement, or, when exten- 

 sive, to limit all opening and 

 shutting movement of the hoof. 

 This is sometimes attempted 

 by a simple leather strap tightly 

 applied, or by binding the foot 

 with string or tape. Tape is 

 less liable to slip than string. 

 When the hoof is sufficiently 

 thick, two )iails may be driven 

 in opposite directions transver- 

 sely through the crack and 

 clinched; or French sandcrack- 

 clii)s (Figs. 8G and 87) may be 

 used, which are easily applied. 

 The instruments necessary are 

 shown in Fig. 88. The iron (b) 

 is made red-hot and pressed on 

 the hoof across the crack, so as 

 to burn a groove each side of it. Into these grooves the 

 clip (a) is put, and the pincers {c) are then used to com- 

 press the clip firmly into its place. There is a strain 



Fig. 88. 



