INJURY BY LYING ON THE SHOE. 313 



and Mavourneen driven, we cannot avoid breaking in on 

 his privacy. The practice of going into a stable at all 

 hours of the day and night cannot be too severely rep- 

 robated. Horses engaged in fast work should be encour- 

 aged to lie down as much as possible, saving both their 

 temper and legs their temper by not being irritated by 

 needless disturbance, and their legs by not having to 

 sustain the weight of the body when tired or the muscles 

 relaxed, following the tension of hard work. The loose 

 box not only permits of more privacy, but a horse will lie 

 down, when not restrained with a halter, that otherwise 

 would stand. 



It would appear, when a horse is lying on a good bed 

 of straw, that for the time being he is safe. There are 

 horses, however, that have a trick of injuring themselves 

 in this situation, by resting the elbow on the shoe, which 

 often results in serious injury, making an enlargement that 

 is extremely difficult to get rid of, and if allowed to run 

 for a length of time, requiring a surgical operation to cure. 

 So inveterate is the habit in some horses that it cannot be 

 cured in any way, save by enveloping the foot with rags, 

 or having a soft cushion to draw over the hoof. I have 

 seen men use a circle of metal six or eight inches in 

 diameter, which they placed around the pastern ; this 

 only effected the transfer of the injury to another part. 

 A metal projection is useful when a horse has the habit 

 of standing with one foot on the other, and I have known 

 horses to do this until the coronet has been injured so 

 much as to cause a morbid growth of horn, to the great 

 detriment of the foot. The cushioning should be put on 

 at the very outset, as, after the swelling occasioned by the 

 pressure has got to a suppurating stage, the cushion will 

 irritate it, and prevent the healing. It is a very annoying 

 habit, and the cure is so much more difficult than preven- 



