ISxtracts front Journals, ^Foreign and Domestic, 
On Shoeing Horses that Cut. 
By M. Vat el. 
The case of a horse, brought to us on account of u cutting,” 
presents us with four points of inquiry 1st, the place struck ; 
2dly, the part which strikes ; 3dly, the cause of the collision ; 
4thly, the remedy against it. 
The part or place wdiich is cut requires to be noted particu¬ 
larly ; because, commonly, it serves to explain the cause of the 
cutting, and sometimes points out to us the part that does the 
mischief. Most horses cut upon the fetlock; some upon the 
knee or cannon; others, again, upon the coronet, or even upon 
the side of the hoof. 
So long as the hair upon the fetlock is not abraded, and no 
wound exists, the animal is said merely to “ brush.” This is not 
so bad a fault as contusion resulting from a repetition of blows, 
and which amounts to cutting . The former is ordinarily the 
effect of relative debility , arising from age, season, or work ; or 
else of the nature of the ground the animal goes upon ; or it may 
result from shoeing. The latter may likewise proceed from such 
causes * but more commonly it is the product either of absolute 
debility or of ill conformation. 
A horse that strikes his fetlock may do so either with the side 
of the foot or the part posterior to it. In the former case, the 
animal may stand straight upon his legs, and the fault result 
from weakness, relative or absolute, or from the nature of the 
ground, or from bad shoeing: in the latter, the accident is uni¬ 
formly the effect of mal-position, which may be either relative or 
absolute # . The horse that “ speedy-cuts” (either at the knee or 
cannon), does it from lifting up his legs too high, and at the time 
turning the foot inwards : it is a fault always referable to the im¬ 
proper direction taken by the limb in action. Lastly, a horse 
that strikes the coronet or hoof, does it from weakness, from 
being over-fatigued, or else altogether worked up. 
2. To discover the part of the foot which is doing the mis¬ 
chief is very often no less than to find out the remedy against 
the recurrence of it. Examine the animal attentively in a state of 
* Mal-position ( le defaut d } aplomb) may be relative , in regard to the un¬ 
natural bearing given to the hoot by the smith, in paring the loot, or by the 
shoe which he has put on ; or it may be absolute , in arising from mal-con- 
formation, either innate or acquired. 
