166 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



may also result from driving the nails 

 too deeply into the horn of the hoof. 

 A slight study of the structure of the 

 horse's hoof will convince anyone that 

 the frog and bars of the hoof should be 



Fig. 118 NARROW FORM 



left with as little interference as pos- 

 sible. It is merely necessary to rasp 

 off the ragged edges of the toe and sides 

 when these parts grow out so far as to 

 incur danger of breaking. In order to 



Fig. 119 — WIDE FORM 



insure the normal development of the 

 hoof in colts it is desirable that they be 

 allowed plenty of exercise out of doors, 

 so that the wear on the hoof will be 

 uniform. 



Fig. 120 — FORE FEET IN REGULAR FORM 



It is sometimes thought that the shoe 

 should be heavy in order to wear as 

 long as possible. A light shoe, however, 

 will often wear nearly as long as a heavy 



one, and for all practical purposes the 

 lighter the shoe the better and the least 

 likely it is to interfere with the gait of 

 the horse. In summer and at all times 

 wben the roads are not slippery, no calks 

 should be allowed on the shoes, but on 

 icy roads in winter a permanent calk may 

 be used, or one of the forms of "never- 

 slip" calks. A convenient calk of this 

 sort is of a conical shape and furnished 

 with threads by means of which it may 

 be screwed into the shoe. Recently con- 

 siderable success has been had with the 

 use of a rubber pad between the bars of 



Fig. 121 — CONFORMATION OF THE FORE 

 FOOT. A, AN ACUTE -ANGLED FOOT; B, 

 A REGULAR FOOT; C, A STUMPY FOOT 



the shoe. This gives a large surface of 

 contact and thus prevents slipping at the 

 same time and an added elasticity is 

 secured. 



POISONOUS PLANTS AND MINEEAL 

 POISONS 



Domestic animals occasionally be- 

 come poisoned by eating dangerous min- 

 erals by accident or from malicious poi- 

 soning. Brief notes may be given on a 

 few of the most common forms of min- 

 eral poisons. 



Lead poisoning has been noted as the 

 results of eating sugar beet pulp carried 

 in freight cars which had previously been 

 used for lead ore. The same trouble 

 occasionally develops in the neighbor- 

 hood of smelters, where lead dust is pre- 

 cipitated on the vegetation. In acute 

 cases, the attack is sudden and resem- 

 bles staggers or mill? fever, being accom- 

 panied with paralysis. Treatment may 

 consist of sulphuric acid in 60-drop doses 

 diluted in water, followed by linseed oil 

 in doses of V2 pint; these doses are the 

 proper size for horses or cattle. 



Arsenic may also be given maliciously 

 or may be taken on vegetation in the 

 neighborhod of smelters. Usually the 

 poisonous effects are not noted for sev- 

 eral days, after which the abdominal 

 pain, sweating and nervous excitement 

 are very pronounced. Arsenic causes a 

 violent inflammation in the stomach, 

 which may best be treated by adminis- 



