DISEASES OF THE FOOT 167 



is best to do this in the fall or winter when the ground is wet. 

 If this can not be practised, the shoes should be removed and 

 a poultice of ground flaxseed and bran, equal parts, applied to 

 the feet for a period of eight or ten hours, daily for a week 

 or two. A plank trough six inches deep, two feet wide and as 

 long as the stall is wide may be filled with a stiff clay, and the 

 horse made to stand with its front feet in the clay bath for ten 

 or twelve hours daily. When grooming the horse, the foot should 

 be cleaned with a foot-hook and washed with clean water. Hoof 

 ointments should be avoided so far as possible. The importance 

 of fitting the shoe to the foot, avoiding the too free use of the 

 rasp and hoof knife and resetting or changing the shoe when 

 necessary can not be overestimated. Shoeing the animal with a 

 special shoe is sometimes necessary. It is not advisable to 

 attempt the forcible expansion of the quarters. Lowering the 

 heels by careful trimming of the wall and sole and permitting 

 frog pressure may be all the special attention required. 



Sand-crack. — A fissure in the wall of the foot running in the 

 same direction as the horny fibres, or a seam in the wall resulting 

 from the healing of the fissure is termed sand-crack. The posi- 

 tion and extent of the fissure or seam vary. It may involve 

 the wall of the toe (toe-crack) (Fig. 41) or quarter (quarter- 

 crack) (Fig. 42). It is superficial or deep, according to the 

 thickness of the wall involved; complete or inco))iplete, depend- 

 ing on wdiether it extends from the bearing margin of the wall 

 to the coronary band or only a portion of the distance ; simple, 

 when the horny tissue only is involved ; and complicated, when 

 the sensitive tissue beneath becomes injured and inflamed. 

 Cracks of long standing usually have thick, rough margins. 



The causes of this unsoundness are poor quality of horn, 

 improper care and injuries. Sand-cracks commonly occur in 

 hoofs that are dry arid brittle and liave thin walls. In young 

 horses incomplete cracks due to the wall becoming long and 

 breaking off in large pieces are common. Unequal distribution 



