302 LEATHER AND KUBBER SOLES, ETC. 



have their disadvantages. Occasionally they cause thrush, 

 bruising of the sole, and, in some instances, they tend to loosen 

 the shoe. When the sole is permanently hxed in position, 

 thrush is comparatively common and cannot always be pre- 

 vented even by using antiseptics or tar dressings. Leather 

 pads, therefore, should only be used when the horse works on 

 hard pavements. The following resuvU is far from exhaustive, 

 but contains a description of the pads most frequently used. 



1. Leather Soles 



are formed of leather from yg- to ^ inch in thickness. The 

 hoof surface of the shoe is laid on a square piece of this, the 

 outer margin and the recess for the clip marked, and the sole 

 cut out. As the sole raises the hoof and renders it somewhat 

 wider, the shoe must be fashioned to correspond. The clips 

 should be drawn rather longer than usual, the exact extra 

 length being the thickness of the leather used. The leather of 

 the sole is fastened to the heel of the shoe by means of a 

 * stub.* The leather sole itself is of comparatively little 

 service, but becomes much more effective when the space 

 between it and the horny sole is filled with tow or similar 

 elastic material, which transmits to the sole a certain amount 

 of the pressure produced during motion. The tow may be 

 locally distributed, any portion of the hoof which is painful 

 being left uncovered ; other parts may be caused to take more 

 pressure. Leather soles can be used both for ordinary and bar 

 shoes, even when the frog is affected with thrush. In such 

 case, all loose parts are removed from the diseased frog, which 

 is dressed with carbolic solution, smeared with Stockholm 

 (wood) tar or Venice turpentine, so as to protect the frog from 

 the air and from septic matter, and the space completely 

 filled with tampons of tow. It is only necessary to use suffi- 

 cient tow to exercise moderate pressure on the sole. With the 

 exception of cases of canker and exposure of the sensitive 

 structures of the sole, the leather sole with stopping may be 

 used with advantacfc in all hoof diseases. 



Disadvantages. — The most frequent accident is the entrance 

 of sand, etc., between the horn and leather, causing bruised 

 sole. When the stopping is carefully inserted, however, this 



