206 DISEASES OF THE HORSE'S FOOT 



The ' pitch ' of the nail-holes should be such that the 

 nail is guided more or less nearly to follow the line of 

 inclination of the wall. Accordingly, the nail-holes at the 

 toe should be * pitched ' distinctly inwards, the inward pitch 

 lessening as the quarters are reached, until the hindermost 

 nail-hole or two is pitched in a 'direction that is almost 

 perpendicular. 



Too great an inward inclination of the nail will, however, 

 give rise to a bind. 



It is probable that ' tight-nailing ' results more often 

 from fine punching of the shoe than from any fault in the 

 pitch of the hole. Inattention to either detail, however, is 

 apt to bring the mischief about. 



Even with a correctly fitted shoe, and with a normal 

 foot, tight-nailing may occur as a result of sheer careless- 

 ness on the part of the smith. 



SymjJtoms. — Possibly the animal returns from the forge 

 sound. It is on the following day, as a rule, that evidence 

 of the injury is given by the animal coming out from the 

 stable lame. In a well-marked case the foot is warmer to 

 the hand than its fellow, and percussion over the wall will 

 sometimes reveal the particular nail that is the cause of 

 the trouble. Should the shoe be removed, then the fact 

 that the hole the nail has made is far too close to the sole 

 often points out at once the seat of the mischief. 



Treatment. — As to whether or not the shoe should be 

 removed is very much a matter for careful discretion on 

 the part of the veterinary surgeon. Where the foot is 

 shelly and brittle even a good smith sometimes finds him- 

 self unable to firmly attach the shoe without verging closely 

 on causing the condition we are now describing. The 

 author has known cases where animals with feet of this 

 description have almost invariably returned from the forge, 

 or rather been found the next day, with a suspicion of ten- 

 derness. After the lapse of a day or two this has quite often 

 disappeared, and nothing in the meantime been done with 

 the foot. Seeing, therefore, that removal and refitting of 

 the shoe is in this case attended with risk of breaking away 



