282 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 



patient becomes severely lame for a week or more. This may- 

 continue or disappear, only to recur after weeks or even months. 

 Finally, lameness is constantly present and is aggravated with 

 use. The heels contract, the hoof gets hard and dry, the frog 

 atrophies, the toe of the shoe wears away more rapidly than 

 normally as it strikes the ground first, the horse stumbles, par- 

 ticularly when going up hill, and the gait is stiff. One writer 

 summarizes the symptoms as follows: "Unless the case is bad 

 the horse 'points,' raises his heel, and rounds his fetlock joint 

 when standing. He walks sound, but when trotted goes 'short, ' 

 'daisy cuts,' and 'digs his toes into the ground.'" 



Treatment. — From what has been said about the pathology 

 of navicular disease it is clear that few cases recover. Mechan- 

 ical means to relieve the- animal and render him serviceable are 

 the most sensible forms of treatment. A plane shoe, without a 

 bar or toe-calk, is best. If calks are required, two heel calks 

 and two toe calks should be used. In cases of persistent lameness 

 unnerving may be performed to destroy sensation in the foot. 



SHOEING 



Shoeing must be considered a necessary evil, because it gives 

 an artificial base of support and interferes more or less with the 

 physiologic movements of the foot. When properly applied, 

 iron or steel shoes afford protection and render the horse more 

 serviceable for road work. The objects of shoeing are: (1) To 

 protect the hoof from excessive wear. (2) To prevent slipping 

 and falling during winter. (3) To correct faulty positions of 

 limbs that horses may render good service and increase their 

 speed. (4) To cure or improve diseased or defective hoofs and 

 feet. 



In shoeing it is best to follow a definite plan of procedure. 

 This includes — (1) An examination of the horse at rest, and then 

 in motion, to detect irregularities in the foot's axis, quality of 

 horn, cracks, rings, length and wear of the old shoes, peculiarities 

 in the gait, and the presence of lameness. (2) Removal of the 

 old shoe by carefully lifting the clinches to prevent injury to the 

 horn. (3) Preparation of the hoof for the shoe. (4) Selection 

 and fitting of suitable shoes. 



Horn grows constantly, so the hoof must needs be reduced in 



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