176 HORSESHOEING. 



does not rest firmly upon the hoof, or which has been shifted as 

 a result of careless nailing, may as readily cause bruising of 

 the quarters as neglected shoeing. The latter causes, as a rule, 

 corns of the sole. It is very rarely that corns are caused by 

 stones fastened between the frog and branches of the shoe or 

 in unshod hoofs by pebbles becoming wedged in the white line. 



Dryness is particularly injurious to the hoofs, and is in the 

 highest degree favorable to the production of corns. It renders 

 the hoof stiff and inelastic, and first manifests itself by a 

 short, cautious (sore) gait when the horse is first put to work. 



Treatment. — First, removal of the causes, by restoring the 

 proper form to the hoof through shortening a toe which is too 

 long (esi^ecially apt to be the case in acute-angled hoofs), cutting 

 down quarters wdiich are too high, and carefully removing all 

 dead horn from the branches of the sole, especially in acute- 

 angled hoofs. 



Deeply digging out a small area of blood-stained horn is in- 

 jurious. It is much better to thin the horn of the entire branch 

 of the sole uniformly, in doing w^hich we should avoid wound- 

 ing the velvety tissue of the sole or drawdng blood. 



The proper shoe is the bar-shoe, except when both carti- 

 lages are ossified. The pressure should not be taken from the 

 quarters unless they are sore. 



When there is a suppurating corn, the shoe should be left 

 off several days. A chronic corn should be protected continu- 

 ously from pressure by the shoe. This is accomplished by 

 using a bar-shoe with leather sole. A three-quarter shoe is not 

 sufficient to properly protect a, hoof affected with a chronic com, 

 if the animal rtiust perform exacting labor on hard roads. 



The care of the hoof consists in keeping it cool, moderately 

 moist, and pliant. 



5. Inflammation of the Heels. 



Inflammation of the bulbs of the plantar cushion (heels) is 

 usually caused by such external influences as bruising. It occurs 



