MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET. 125 



Constant stopping will make even a thick sole too soft. 

 When the sole is so soft or so thin as to yield to any degree 

 of pressure which can be exerted by the thumb, no moist 

 stopping should be applied. If it be rendered more yielding, 

 whether by stopping or by paring, the horse will go tenderly 

 over a rough road, and his foot will be very easily bruised. 

 I am aware that a high authority recommends the sole to be 

 kept as elastic as possible. This is not the place to discuss 

 such a subject. The fact is as I state ; experience enables 

 me to declare that a yielding sole will lame the soundest horse 

 that ever walked. Excessive stopping also produces 



Thrushes. — A thrush, as every stableman knows, is a 

 disease of the frog. At first there is a slight discharge from 

 the cleft of this wedge-like protuberance. The discharge is 

 produced by the frequent, long-continued, or excessive appli- 

 cation of moisture. A plethoric state of the body may be a 

 predisposing, but moisture is the immediate cause of thrushes. 

 They can be purposely produced by stopping the feet always 

 with a moist stopping, or by letting the horse stand always in 

 dung. If a thrush be neglected, it spreads, involving the 

 whole or greater part of the frog, the heels, and even the 

 sole. The horn becomes ragged and irregular in its growth. 

 The frog shrinks in volume, and the foot contracts. The 

 horse is sometimes disposed to go much on his toes, that he 

 may relieve the posterior parts of the foot ; but in general he 

 has no lameness, except when the frog comes upon a stone, 

 or receives pressure in rough or deep ground. When in its 

 more serious stages, the disease should be placed under the 

 care of a veterinarian. At the beginning, almost any person 

 may cure it. Let the cleft of the frog and all the moist 

 crevices be thoroughly cleaned, and then fill them with pled- 

 gets of tow, dipped in warm tar. This simple remedy, re- 

 peated every day, often effects a cure. When a stronger is 

 necessary, the Egyptiacum ointment may be used instead of 

 the tar, or each may be applied alternately. Bad frogs may 

 be greatly improved by shoeing with leather soles. 



To prevent thrushes in feet already disposed to them, the 

 frogs must be kept dry. If the sole need moisture, the stop- 

 ping must not be applied to the frog. This part may be 

 defended b'y a coat of pitch, or the slopping may be confined 

 to the sole. 



Anointing the Wall of the Hoof. — Among grooms 

 and coachmen it is a common practice to apply oil or some 



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