KNEB, FBTLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. I79 



Calk Wotinds. Horses wearing shoes with sharp calks are liable 

 to wounds of the coronary region, either from tramping on themselves, 

 or on each other. These injuries are most common in heavy draught 

 horses, especially on rough roads and slippery streets. The fore-feet 

 are more liable than the hind ones, and the seat of injury is commonly 

 on the quarters. In the hind-feet the wound often results from the 

 animal resting with the heel of one foot set directly over the front of the 

 other. In these cases the injury is generally close to the horn, and often 

 involves the coronary band, the sensitive laminae, the extensor tendon, 

 and even the coffin bone. 



Treatment. Preventive measures would include the use of boots to 

 protect the coronet of the hind-foot, and the use of a blunt calk on the 

 outside heel of the fore shoe, since this is generally the offender where 

 the fore- feet are injured. If the wound is not deep and the soreness 

 slight, cold-water bandages and a light protective dressing, such as car- 

 bolized cosmoline, will be all that is needed. Where the injury is deep, 

 followed by inflammation and suppuration of the coronarj' band, lateral 

 cartilages, sensitive laminae, etc. , active measures must be resorted to. 

 In these cases cold, astringent baths, made by adding two ounces of 

 sulphate of iron to a gallon of water, should be used, followed by poul- 

 tices if it is necessarjf to hasten the cleansing of the wound by stimu- 

 lating the sloughing process. Where the wound is deep between the 

 horn arid skin, especially o\'er the anterior tendon, the horn should be 

 cut away so that the injured tissues may be exposed. The subsequent 

 treatment in these cases should follow the directions laid down in the 

 article on toe-cracks. 



Prost Bites. Excepting the ears, the feet and legs are about the 

 only parts of the horse liable to become frost-bitten. The cases most 

 commonly seen are found in cities, especially among car horses, where 

 salt is used for the purpose of melting the snow on curves and switches. 

 This mixture of snow and salt is splashed over the feet and legs, rapidly 

 lowering the temperature of the parts to the freezing point. In moun- 

 tainous districts where the snowfall is heavy and the cold often in- 

 tense, frost bites are not uncommon even among animals running 

 at large. 



Symptoms. When the frosting is slight the skin becomes pale and 

 bloodless, followed soon after by intense redness, heat, pain, and swell- 

 ing. In these cases the hair may fall out and the epidermis peel off, but 

 the inflammation soon subsides, the swelling disappears, and only an in- 

 creased sensitiveness to cold remains. 



