DETECTION OF PRICKS FROM SHOEIXG. 379 



iiess draw attention to the foot. The hoof is then hot, painful 

 to percussion and to pressure with the pincers ; there is slight 

 swelling, increased pulsation of the digital arteries, and partial 

 or complete inability to bear weight on the foot. 



Pricks in shoeing may be suspected when the animal is 

 tender on the foot, when it has been newly shod, when the 

 hoof appears too small for the size of the body, when the wall 

 is excessively rasped or portions are broken away, and when 

 the nails are very high or very unequally placed. 



Premising that even with every precaution pricks in shoeing 

 are sometimes unavoidable, the more common causes may be 

 arranged as follows : — (1) badly placed or misdirected nail 

 holes ; (2) excessive paring and lowering of the hoof : (3) thin- 

 ning the wall by rasping the outside ; (4) faults in fitting the 

 shoe ; using very narrow shoes ; sinking the toe-clip too far 

 into the hoof (the nail holes, instead of corresponding with the 

 w^hite line, then fall within the region of the sole) ; (5) faulty 

 driving ; the use of badly pointed or excessively large nails ; 

 (6) placing the nail too deep, or reversal of its point. As 

 accidental causes may be mentioned, (7) old stubs left in the 

 hoofs ; (8) very thin or broken walls ; (9) abnormal softness 

 of the horn, which renders it difficult to ascertain the course 

 of the nail by the resistance and sound : (10) restlessness of 

 the animal while the nails are being driven ; and (11) (nowadays 

 a very uncommon event) splitting of the nail in the hoof. 



To detect pain in the foot the pincers are applied with 

 moderate and regular pressure all round the sole and the 

 clenches, and the lower part of the wall is gently tapped with 

 the hammer. If the horse flinches at a certain spot, the shoe 

 must be removed, each nail being drawn separately. Xote 

 should be taken of the direction and thickness of the nails and 

 of any adherent blood, blood- serum, or pus. The point where 

 each nail enters the hoof should be examined. If, instead 

 of passing through the white line, one of the nail holes appears 

 within it, i.e., nearer the centre of the foot, it is in the highest 

 degree probable that that particular nail hole is at fault. 

 Each hole is then examined by passing a clean nail into it and 

 pressing the point towards the soft tissues at different depths. 

 Under such conditions symptoms of pain are a sure indication 

 of the animal having been pricked. It need scarcely be said 



