UNITED STATES VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
SOI 
tlier investigation and treatment, which relieved it, have proved it 
to have been in the foot. 
It is a custom, in shoeing road and coach horses, to set the 
hind shoes back from the toe, to prevent ‘‘forging,” even wlfffre 
there is no necessity; and it is rarely that the shoes are fitted 
full to the feet, because horse-shoers generally believe that by 
setting the shoe inside of the wall the tendency to interfering 
will be overcome. It is easy to see that such a method of shoe¬ 
ing will often produce lameness from the shoe coming in contact 
unevenly with portions of the sole of the foot, and perhaps from 
the nails having entered the foot too near the sensitive parts. If 
examinations of the feet are made when the shoes are off, very 
many of them will be found tender, if pressure is applied with 
the pincers, even in cases where there is no apparent lameness. 
Some horses that are not lame will prove troublesome to handle, 
on account of twitching their feet away from the smith when 
the clenches are hammered down, because the operation is painful 
to them. Such indications of tenderness are not noticed, except 
an animal is lame, but in such feet a slight cause will often de¬ 
velop lameness of a persistent nature, which ordinary remedies 
do not relieve at once. 
Horses rest their hind feet by flexing the leg and bringing the 
toe to the ground, shifting from one to the other, and this to me 
is an evidence of soreness, as much as when I see them “ point ” 
with the fore feet. 
I have simply called attention to the frequency of lameness 
in the hind feet, without attempting any details concerning it, 
because I have met with it quite often, and because I believe 
examinations for lameness ought always to include the foot. An 
animal may be lame from spavin, or other cause, and still the 
lameness may be increased from some injury to the foot acting at 
the same time to produce additional pain. If this was known, 
it might be relieved in season to do a great amount of good. 
Hoping that the gentlemen present will discuss the matter 
of frog-pressure shoeing, and relate their experience, if they have 
had any, in connection with it, I respectfully submit this some¬ 
what imperfect and hasty report. 
