192 THB HORSB. 



of the foot should be spared from the abuse of the rasp; the frog, heels, 

 and bars are not to be mutilated with the knife, nor should calks be 

 used on the shoe except when absolutely necessar}'. The shoes should 

 be reset at least once a month, to prevent the feet from becoming too 

 long, and daily exercise must be insisted on. 



As to curative measures a diversity of opinion exists. A number of 

 kinds of special shoes have been invented, having for an object the 

 spreading of the heels, and perhaps any of these, if properly used, would 

 eventually effect the desired result. But a serious objection to most of 

 these shoes is that they are expensive and often difficult of make and 

 application. The following method of treatment in these cases is not 

 only attended with good results, but is inexpensive, if the loss of the 

 patient's services for a time is not considered a part of the question. It 

 consists, first, in the use of poultices or baths of cold water for a few 

 days until the horn is thoroughly softened. . The foot is now prepared 

 for the shoe in the usual way, except that the heels are lowered a little, 

 the frog remaining untouched. A shoe called a "tip" is made by cut- 

 ting off both branches at the center of the foot and drawing the ends 

 down to an edge. The tapering of the branches should begin at the 

 toe, and the shoe .should be of the usual width, with both the upper and 

 lower surfaces flat. This tip is to be fastened on with six or eight small 

 nails, all set well forward, two being in the toe. With a common foot 

 rasp begin at the heels, close to the coronet, and cut away the horn of 

 the wall until only a thin layer covers the soft tissues beneath. Cut 

 forward until the new surface meets the same two and one-half to three 

 inches from the heel. The same sloping shape is to be observed in cut- 

 ting downward toward the bottom of the foot, at which point the wall is 

 to retain its normal thickness. The foot is now blistered all around the 

 coronet with Spanish fly ointment, and when this is well set the patient 

 is to be turned to pasture in a damp field or meadow. The blister should 

 be repeated in three or four weeks, and, as a rule, the patient can be 

 returned to work in two or three months' time. The object of the tip 

 is to throw the weight on the frog and heels, which are readily spread 

 after the horn has been cut away on the sides of the wall. The internal 

 structures of the foot at the heels, being relieved from excessive pressure, 

 regain their normal condition if the disease is not of too long stand- 

 ing. The blister not only tends to relieve any inflammation which 

 may be present, but it also stimulates a rapid growth of healthy 

 horn, which, in most cases, ultimately forms a wide and normal heel. 



