NEW THEORY OF THE ETIOLOGY OF SHOE-BOIL. 
619 
cient has been said, so I will take up the subject of the foot as 
a factor in producing this affection. The same arguments and 
many more cam be advanced against the foot as a factor or agent 
in producing shoe-boil. The questions arise : if a horse has 
shoe-boils, and they are caused by his feet, how are they caused, 
and upon what part of the foot does the horse lie ? One profes¬ 
sional gentleman told me that the horse places the elbow be¬ 
tween the two heels of the shoe, and lies upon the frog, thus 
producing it, and to substantiate his statement I was shown the 
horse. He had a shoe-boil. Upon investigation I found that it 
had existed six months, with two recurrences of the trouble. He 
was then shod with the rubber pad. In fact, all four feet were 
so shod. Further inquiry developed the fact that he had been 
so shod continuously for two years previously. Being so shod 
he could not possibly lie upon his frog. Secondly, it is a phys¬ 
ical, mechanical and anatomical impossibility foi an animal to 
lie upon his frog. He cannot flex the foot while in the lecum- 
bent position, for the knee is already flexed as much as it can 
be. The frog idea I think is settled, for a horse cannot possibly 
lie upon his frog. I thus claim that the heels aie the offending 
agent. They state that the animal rests upon the heels, thus 
producing shoe-boil, and some add that if the animal would only 
turn the heels in or out it could not rest upon them, and I have 
often thought that if such be the case why would it not be easier 
to turn the shoulder and elbow in or out than the foot. The 
shoulder and elbow have all motions which are not possessed by 
any of the articulations from the knee down. The rubber pad 
when it projects beyond the frog prevents an animal from lying 
upon the heels. I have seen no difference. Others claim that 
an animal rests the elbow upon the rim of the shoe, and if a shoe 
be not upon the foot then it rests the elbow upon the wall, eithei 
the inside wall or the outside one. If such be the case, then 
why is it that a horse with very narrow, contracted heels (so 
much so that the pad projects almost one inch on either side, so 
that the animal cannot touch the foot with his elbow because of 
the pad) can develop shoe-boil? I ask, what caused it in such 
