The Shoeing Smiths Duties. 119 



re-fitting. Three weeks' unretarded growth of horn will 

 usually give ample margin to obtain the desired slope, but, 

 if not, the leather strip may be continued another three 

 weeks. 



With a case of " Splay Foot" (Fig. 5) or "toeing 

 out," the treatment suitable for " Pigeon Toes " is exactly 

 reversed, i.e., the outside quarter is lowered and the inside 

 built up. " Upright Pasterns " (Fig. 6) can be improved 

 by keeping the heels very low (Fig. 7), which will induce 

 a more oblique slope of the pasterns. 



An ailment of the feet, which if unchecked will cause 

 lameness, is " thrush," but it seldom occurs where there 

 is good management, as it is usually caused by foul bedding 

 and letting the hoofs grow too long. The seat of the disease 

 is in the cleft of the frog, whence it penetrates to the sensi- 

 tive parts of the foot. The frog acts as a protecting buffer to 

 the pedal bone, and shares its weight-bearing function 

 equally with the " wall " and its continuations, the " bars." 

 Unlike the walls and bars, which will grow to an indefinite 

 length if not worn or pared down, the frogs do not grow 

 beyond a certain limit. Consequently, when the walls and 

 bars grow too long, the frog is relieved of all pressure, and 

 for want of use shrivels up and loses its healthy condition, 

 and readily succumbs to moisture and filth. 



The best treatment for " thrush " is to give plenty of 

 frog pressure by lowering the overgrown walls and bars, and 

 stuffing plenty of burnt alum daily into the clefts of the frog 

 with the back of a hoof picker. This applies to mild cases ; 

 in a bad case of neglected " thrush," when the frog has 

 sloughed away, exposing the sensitive membranes, I will 

 only say, in pursuance of my resolve not to pose as an 

 amateur Yet. call in the Stud's Veterinary Surgeon. If 

 the smith trues the feet regularly each month, it is certain 



