536 THE PUMICED FOOT. 



THE PUMICED FOOT. 



Pumiced feet are produced by a slow chronic inflamma- 

 tion : the front of the hoof always enlarges, and the sole 

 therefore becomes more than flat ; the horse begins to falter, 

 and is sometimes very lame ; at others he can move mode- 

 rately well. The foot, when shod, presents no acquisition 

 of horn; on the contrary, the sole becomes thinner and 

 thinner, and at last bulges out into a surface more or less 

 convex as the internal derangement is greater or less. The 

 large wide feet of the native horses of moist counties are 

 most prone to this evil ; not being able to resist the weaken- 

 ing and irritating effect of battering on stony roads, and 

 least of all on the paved streets of London and other cities. 



The treatment of these feet can be only palliative, as a 

 removal of the deformity has never taken place. Some 

 benefit has been experienced from blistering the coronets in 

 early cases ; this has stimulated the part to an increased 

 secretion of horn. Every means must be taken to avoid 

 pressure on the sole, which is not only painful, but actually 

 aggravates the disease. Pumiced feet should not be kept 

 too moist, nor can they ever be cured by turning out with- 

 out shoes ; but they may be very properly dressed every 

 day, both sole and walls, with a mixture of tar and oil, 

 which proves extremely beneficial to them. The shoe in 

 use for these feet is sufiiciently known ; being formed with a 

 very wide web, and being made so thick as to allow of 

 being bevelled away on the inner surface, to receive the con- 

 vexity of the sole without pressing on it ; this is called a dish 

 shoe. From the outer crust of the foot being thin and 

 brittle, no rule can be laid down as to the particular part 

 through which the nails should be driven, but the smith, in 

 these cases, must get a hold where he can. This is often a 

 very trying matter. It requires no little judgment and 

 patience to shoe a pumiced foot. The sole, however, should, 

 every time the shoe is taken off", have a red-hot iron passed 

 over it, which stimulates the growth of horn, and hardens 

 the part. There is no cure for a foot so diseased ; neither 

 can any one palliate the disorder except the shoeing smith. 

 Standing upon a level pavement, when the shoes are ofl', has 

 been recommended ; but this invention of a mechanical mind 



