154 RURAL VETERII^ARY i^ECRETS 



the stable. As a result the muscles of the whole limb may waste, thus 

 ii^iving rise t(j the condition termed "Chest Founder". The hoof and 

 coronet will also be narrcnver than usual. 



TREATMENT 



Give rest, apply Elk's Vesicant once daily for 3 days, and turn on 

 a soft pasture. If not cured, get your veterinarian to put in a frog 

 seton, and if that fails, have him nerve the animal, after which opera- 

 tion the feet will need daily watching and care, although it will enable 

 the animal to work without lameness for a year or two after the opera- 

 tion. Have the feet pared so as to throw slightly forward on the toe, 

 and apply a wide-webbed shoe with a roll to the toe. 



PRICKS WHILE SHOEING 



These pricks are not as common as they used to be, the shoeing 

 smiths being more careful than heretofore and as a result of the various 

 horseshoer's associations studying the anatomy and physiology of the 

 feet. The cause may be driving nails too close or in the wrong direc- 

 tion, thus penetrating into or bearing on the quick. The lameness and 

 l^ain may not show for a day or even for a couple of weeks. In the 

 latter case pus is likely forming. Some horses have thin walled hoofs 

 and are easily pricked ; the nearer the heel the greater the danger ; inside 

 (|uarters being oftener pricked than outside. If a horse has been left 

 shod for some months and when reshod has the foot cut down pretty 

 well, he is apt to go lame, due to the strain thrown on the tendons and 

 ligaments, or to the sole having been made too thin, thus pressing on 

 the sensitive parts, and the animal may be thought to ha\ e been pricked. 

 If a horse goes lame after shoeing, the nail being driven high or the 

 point not shown, or the hammer gives a dull sound, we may suspect 

 pricking. If blood follows the withdrawal of a nail, or if the nail is 

 wet, due to matter (pus), we can be certain that the ([uick has been 

 hurt. In some cases after paring the feet a stain may be seen around 

 the nail hole. 



THE COLOR OF THE MATTER (Pus) is often a guide as to 

 the extent of the injury. If black, the wound is only superficial and 

 will soon recover ; a yellowish color shows pus more or less deeply 

 seated; if purple and a putrid smell, the chances are that the pedal 

 bone is affected. Should great pain be shown after letting out the mat- 

 ter, the injury is very serious. In this form of disease the same rules 



