320 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



be thus afforded, tliau by the single point which a perfectly 

 round shoe would give. They are less liable also than the round 

 shoe to interfere with the fore shoe. The heels should never be 

 turned up for saddle horses unless it is in frosty slippery weather, 

 and then it is an evil that must be submitted to. 



CHAP. LV. 



INJURIES CONNECTED WITH SHOEING, AND WOUNDS OF THE 



FOOT. 



These accidents most commonly arise from the carelessness of 

 the smith in nailing the shoe to the hoof. The nail is either 

 driven so as to wound the sensible parts, or so near them, as to 

 occasion, by its pressure, pain, inflammation, and, in a few days, 

 suppuration, or the formation of matter. 



When a nail is driven so close as to wound the sensible parts, 

 the animal suddenly draws back his foot, from the pain he suf- 

 fers ; and the smith, aware of what he has done, removes the 

 nail, and takes no further notice of it ; though, sometimes, to 

 avoid suspicion, he fills the vacant hole in the shoe with the head 

 of a nail ; and when the horse is afterwards found to be lame, he 

 too often denies having any knowledge of the cause. When the 

 horse is not worked immediately, and the wound is not consider- 

 able, it may not occasion lameness ; most commonly, however, 

 it is of a more serious nature, causing violent inflammation, 

 which terminates, in a few days, in suppuration. The matter 

 which is formed, being confined, spreads under the horny sole, 

 and causes so much pain that the horse can scarcely put his foot 

 to the ground, and if he be not relieved, by giving vent to the 

 matter, it continues to spread, and ultimately breaks out at the 

 coronet, or top of the hoof. When the disease has been suffered 

 to proceed thus far, it is difficult to cure, and often leaves a per- 

 manent tenderness of the part.* 



As soon as it is known that a horse has been pricked, as it is 

 termed, in shoeing, if the smith, were to remove the horn, 

 where the nail entered, with a small drawing knife, so as to 

 allow the matter which may form to escape freely, all this mis- 

 chief might be avoided. It would be proper to let the horse 

 stand without a shoe for a few days, and wrap up the foot in a 



* Sometimes lameness is produced by the nail being driven too near the 

 quick, without penetrating it. Lameness in this case is not perceived at 

 first; not until the pressure of the internal parts forces the sensible parts 

 against the offending nail. In slight cases a removal of the cause imme- 

 diately affords relief; in others it is necessary to poultice the foot for several 

 days. — Ed. 



