the sole freed of semidetached flakes of horn. The concave sole of a
thick-walled, strong hoof may be pared out around the point of the frog,
but not so much as to remove all evidences of exfoliation. The wall
should be leveled with the rasp till its full thickness, the white line,
and an eighth of an inch of the margin of the sole are in one horizontal
plane, called the "bearing surface of the hoof." The bars, if long, may
be shortened, but _never pared on the side_. The branches of the sole in
the angle between the bars and the wall of the quarters should be left a
little lower than the wall, so as not to be pressed upon by the inner
web of the shoe. "Corns," or bruises of the pododerm, are usually a
result of leaving a thick mass of dry, unyielding horn at this point.
The frog should not be touched further than to remove tags or layers
that are so loose as to form no protection. A soft frog will shorten
itself spontaneously by the exfoliation of superficial layers of horn,
while if the frog is dry, hard, and too prominent it is better to soften
it by applying moisture in some form, and to allow it to wear away
naturally than to pare it down. It is of advantage to have the frog
project below the level of the wall an amount equal to the thickness of
a plain shoe, though we rarely see frogs of such size except in draft
horses. The sharp lower border of the wall should be rounded with the
rasp to prevent its being bent outward and broken away. Finally, the
foot is set to the ground and again observed from all sides to make
sure, that the lines bounding the hoof correspond with the direction of
the long pastern.
THE SHOE.
The shoe is an artificial base of support, by no means ideal, because it
interferes to a greater or less degree with the physiology of the foot,
but indispensable except for horses at slow work on soft ground. Since a
proper surface of support is of the greatest importance in preserving
the health of the feet and legs, it is necessary to consider the various
forms of shoes best adapted to the different forms of hoofs. Certain
properties are common to all shoes and may be considered first. They are
form, width, thickness, length, surfaces, borders, "fullering," nail
holes, and clips.
_Form._--Every shoe should have the form of the hoof for which it is
intended, provided the hoof retains its proper shape; but for every hoof
that has undergone change of form we must endeavor to give the shoe that
form which the hoof originally possessed. Front shoes and hind shoes,
rights and lefts, should be distinctly different and easily
distinguishable.
_Width._--All shoes should be wider at the toe than at the ends of the
branches. The average width should be about double the thickness of the
wall at the toe.
_Thickness._--The thickness should be sufficient to make the shoe last
about four weeks and should be uniform except in special cases.
_Length._--This will depend upon the obliquity of the hoof viewed in
profile. The acute-angled hoof (fig. 5a) has long overhanging heels,
and a considerable proportion of the weight borne by the leg falls in
the posterior half of the hoof. For such a hoof the branches of the shoe
should extend back of the buttresses to a distance nearly double the
thickness of the shoe. For a hoof of the regular form (figs. 5b and 8)
the branches should project an amount equal to the thickness of the
shoe. In a stumpy hoof (fig. 5c) the shoe need not project more than
one-eighth of an inch. In all cases the shoe should cover the entire
"bearing surface" of the wall.
_Surfaces._--The surface that is turned toward the hoof is known as the
"upper," or "hoof surface," of the shoe. That part of the hoof surface
which is in actual contact with the horn is called the "bearing surface"
of the shoe. The "bearing surface" should be perfectly horizontal from
side to side, and wide enough to support the full thickness of the wall,
the white line, and about an eighth of an inch of the margin of the
sole. The bearing surface should also be perfectly flat, except that it
may be turned up at the toe ("rolling-motion" shoe, fig. 5 a, b,
c.) The surface between the bearing surface and the inner edge of the
shoe is often beaten down or concaved to prevent pressure too far inward
upon the sole. This "concaving," or "seating," should be deeper or
shallower as the horny sole is less or more concave. As a rule, strongly
"cupped" soles require no concaving (hind hoofs, narrow fore hoofs).
_Borders._--The entire outer border should be beveled under the foot.
Such a shoe is not so readily loosened, nor is it so apt to lead to
interfering.
_Fullering._--This is a groove in the ground surface of the shoe. It
should pass through two-thirds of the thickness of the shoe, be clean,
and of uniform width. It is of advantage in that it makes the shoe
lighter in proportion to its width and, by making the ground surface
somewhat rough, tends to prevent slipping.
_Nail holes._--The shoe must be so "punched" that the nail holes will
fall directly on the white line. They should be confined to the fore
half of front shoes, but may occupy the anterior two-thirds of hind
shoes. For a medium-weight shoe three nail holes in each branch are
sufficient, but for heavier shoes, especially those provided with long
calks, eight holes are about right, though three on the inside and four
on the outside may do.
_Clips._--These are half-circular ears drawn up from the outer edge of
the shoe either at the toe or opposite the side wall. The height of a
clip should equal the thickness of the shoe, though they should be even
higher on hind shoes and when a leather sole is interposed between the
shoe and hoof. Clips secure the shoe against shifting. A side clip
should always be drawn up on that branch of the shoe that first meets
the ground in locomotion.
SPECIAL FEATURES AND FITTING THE SHOES.
_A shoe for a regular hoof_ (figs. 7 and 8) fits when its outer border
follows the wall closely in the region of the nail holes and from the
last nail to the end of the branch gradually projects beyond the surface
of the wall to an eighth of an inch and extends back of the buttresses
an amount equal to the thickness of the shoe. The shoe must be straight,
firm, air-tight, its nail holes directly over the white line, and its
branches far enough from the branches of the frog to permit the passage
of a foot pick. Branches of the shoe must be of equal length.
In fitting a shoe to a hoof of regular form we follow the form of the
hoof, but in base-wide and base-narrow hoofs, which are of irregular
form, we must pay attention not only to the form of the hoof but also to
the direction of the pasterns and the consequent distribution of weight
in the hoof, because where the most weight falls the surface of support
of the foot must be widened, and where the least weight falls (opposite
side of the hoof) the surface of support should be narrowed. In this way
the improper distribution of weight within the hoof is evenly
distributed over the surface of support.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Left fore hoof of regular form, shod with a
plain "fullered" shoe. Note the distribution of the nails, length of the
fuller (crease), and the closeness of the ends of the shoe to the
branches of the frog.]
_A shoe for a base-wide hoof_ should be fitted full on the inner side of
the foot and fitted close on the outer side, because the inner side
bears the most weight. The nails in the outer branch are placed well
back, but in the inner branch are crowded forward toward the toe.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Side view of hoof and shoe shown in fig. 7. Note
the straight toe, weak ring formation running parallel to the coronet,
clinches low down and on a level, length of the shoe, and the
under-bevel at the toe and heel.]
_A shoe for a base-narrow hoof_ should be just the reverse of the
preceding. The outer branch should be somewhat longer than the inner.
_A shoe for an acute-angled hoof_ should be long in the branches,
because most of the weight falls in the posterior half of the foot. The
support in front should be diminished either by turning the shoe up at
the toe or by beveling it under the toe (fig. 5a).
_A shoe for a stumpy hoof_ should be short in the branches, and for
pronounced cases should increase the support of the toe, where the most
of the weight falls, by being beveled downward and forward.
In many cases, especially in draft horses, where the hoofs stand very
close together, the coronet of the outer quarter is found to stand out
beyond the lower border of the quarter. In such cases the outer branch
of the shoe from the last nail back must be fitted so full that an
imaginary perpendicular dropped from the coronet will just meet the
outer border of the shoe. The inner branch, on the other hand, must be
fitted as "close" as possible. The principal thought should be to set
the new shoe farther toward the more strongly worn side. Such a practice
will render unnecessary the widespread and popular fad of giving the
outer quarter and heel calk of hind shoes an extreme outward bend. Care
should be taken, however, that in fitting the shoe "full" at the quarter
the bearing surface of the hoof at the quarter be not left unsupported
or incompletely covered, to be pinched and squeezed inward against the
frog. This will be obviated by making the outer branch of the shoe
sufficiently wide and punching it so coarse that the nails will fall
upon the white line.
_Hot fitting._--Few farriers have either the time or the skill necessary
to adjust a cold shoe to the hoof so that it will fit, as we say,
"air-tight." Though the opponents of hot fitting draw a lurid picture of
the direful consequences of applying a hot shoe to the hoof, it is only
the abuse of the practice that is to be condemned. If a heavy shoe at a
yellow heat be held tightly pressed against a hoof which has been pared
too thin, till it embeds itself, serious damage may be done. But a shoe
at a dark heat may be pressed against a properly dressed hoof long
enough to scorch, and thus indicate to the farrier the portions of horn
that should be lowered without appreciable injury to the hoof and to the
ultimate benefit of the animal.
_Nailing._--The horse owner should insist on the nails being driven low.
They should pierce the wall not above an inch and five-eighths above the
shoe. A nail penetrating the white line and emerging low on the wall
destroys the least possible amount of horn, has a wide and strong
clinch, rather than a narrow one, which would be formed near the point
of the nail, and, furthermore, has the strongest possible hold on the
wall, because its clinch is pulling more nearly at a right angle to the
grain (horn tubes) of the wall than if driven high. Finally, do not
allow the rasp to touch the wall above the clinches.
THE BAR SHOE.
The bar shoe (fig. 9) has a variety of uses. It enables us to give the
frog pressure, to restore it to its original state of activity and
development when, by reason of disuse, it has become atrophied. It gives
the hoof an increased surface of support and enables us to relieve one
or both quarters of undue pressure that may have induced inflammation
and soreness. The bar of the shoe should equal the average width of the
remainder of the shoe and should press but lightly on the branches of
the frog. The addition of a leather sole with tar and oakum sole-packing
allows us to distribute the weight of the body over the entire ground
surface of the hoof.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--An acute-angled left fore hoof shod with a bar
shoe. Note the width and position of the bar and the fact that the nails
are placed well toward the toe, so as not to interfere with the
expansion of the quarters.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--A fairly formed right fore ice shoe for a
roadster. The top and outer-heel calks cut at right angles, and the
inner-heel calk is slender and blunt. The back surface of the toe calk
should be perpendicular.]
THE RUBBER PAD.
Various forms of rubber pads, rubber shoes, rope shoes, fiber shoes, and
other contrivances to diminish shock and prevent slipping on the hard
and slippery pavements of our large cities are in use in different parts
of the world. In Germany the rope shoe (a malleable-iron shoe with a
groove in its ground surface in which lies a piece of tarred rope) is
extensively used with most gratifying results. It is cheap, durable,
easily applied, and effective.
In the large cities of England and the United States rubber pads are
extensively used. They are rather expensive, but are quite efficient in
preventing slipping on polished and gummy pavements, though not so
effective on ice. Figure 11 is an illustration of one of the best of
many rubber pads. The rubber is stitched and cemented to a leather sole
and is secured by the nails of a three-quarter shoe. Such a pad will
usually last as long as two shoes. They may be used continuously, not
only without injury to the hoof, but to its great benefit. The belief,
unsupported by evidence, that rubber pads "draw the feet" keeps many
from using them. A human foot encased in a rubber boot may eventually be
blistered by the sweat poured upon the surface of the skin and held
there by the impervious rubber till decomposition takes place with the
formation of irritating fatty acids; but there is no basis for an
analogy in the hoof of a horse.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Left fore hoof of regular form shod with a
rubber pad and "three-quarter" shoe. (Ground surface.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--A narrow right fore hoof of the base-wide
(toe-wide) standing position, shod with a plain "dropped-crease" shoe to
prevent the toe cutting (interfering). The dotted line at the inner toe
indicates the edge of the wall which was rasped away in order to narrow
the hoof along the striking section. Note the inward bevel of the shoe
at this point, the dropped crease, the distribution of the nails, the
long "full" inner branch, and the short "close" outer branch.]
OTHER SPECIAL FORMS.
Some drawings, designed to illustrate shoeing in connection with
"interfering" and "forging," and other special conditions, are shown in
figures 13 to 18.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Hoof surface of a right hind shoe to prevent
interfering. The inner branch has no nail holes and is fitted and
beveled under the hoof. Note the number and position of the nail holes,
the clip on the outer side wall, and the narrowness and bend of the
inner branch.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Ground surface of shoe shown in the previous
figure. The inner, nailless branch has the thickness of the outer branch
plus its calk, so that the inner and outer quarters of the hoof are
equidistant from the ground.]
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Side view of a fore hoof shod so as to quicken
the "breaking over" (quicken the action) in a "forger." Note the short
shoe, heel calks inclined forward, and the rolled toe.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Side view of a short-toed hind hoof of a
forger, shod to slow the action and to prevent injury to the fore heels
by the toe of the hind shoe. Note the elevation of the short toe by
means of a toe calk and the projection of the toe beyond the shoe. When
such a hoof has grown more toe, the toe calk can be dispensed with and
the shoe set farther forward.]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--A toe-weight shoe to increase the length of
stride of fore feet. The nails are placed too far back, and the shoe has
no characteristic form but the weight is properly placed.]
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Most common form of punched heel-weight shoe to
induce high action in fore feet. The profile of the shoe shows a "roll"
at the toe and "swelled" heels. The weight is well placed, but "rolling"
the toe and raising the heels lower action. The shoe would be much more
effective if of uniform thickness and with no roll at the toe.]
INDEX.
Abdomen--
dropsy, in foal, or ascites, description and treatment, 193
dropsy, or ascites, description, symptoms, and treatment, 86
limbs, and perineum, dropsy affecting, description and treatment, 180
sheath, and penis, swelling, cause and treatment, 171
Abnormal presentations at birth, 197-202
Abortion, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 182
Abscess--
and inflammation of lymphatic glands, descriptions, symptoms,
treatment, 272
in lung and suppuration, symptoms, 127
Abscesses--
acute, description and treatment, 500
cold, description and treatment, 501
description, 500
in throat, treatment, 62
_Acari_, parasites of eye, 296
Acariasis, or mange, note, 478
_Achorion schoenleini_, vegetable parasite of skin, description, 478
Adams, John W., chapter on "Horseshoeing", 583-605
Air embolism, or air in veins, note, 270
Albuminoid poisoning, hemoglobinuria, azoturia, azotemia, symptoms,
prevention, and treatment, 141
Aloes, use against bots in horses, 93
Amaurosis, or palsy of nerve of sight, causes, symptoms, and
treatment, 231, 295
Amnion, dropsy, description and treatment, 180
Anasarca, or purpura hemorrhagica, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc., 531,
533
Anatomy and physiology of brain and nervous system, 210
Anemia--
of brain, causes, symptoms, pathology, and treatment, 223
spinal, symptoms and treatment, 234
Aneurism--
description, symptoms, pathology, and treatment, 265
one form caused by _Strongylus vulgaris_, 265
Anidian monsters, or moles, description, 179
Animal parasites, description of kinds, 478
Ankle--
and fetlock, skin, note, 397
fetlock, and foot, diseases, chapter by A. A. Holcombe, 395-457
Ankles, cocked, or knuckling, description, causes, and treatment, 400
Anthrax--
definition, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 540-544
prevention by destruction of bacteria, 544
vaccination as preventive, 544
Apoplexy, or cerebral hemorrhage, causes, symptoms, pathology, and
treatment, 220
Arteries--
description, 249
diseases, or arteritis, and endarteritis, description, symptoms,
pathology, and treatment, 263
Artery--
constriction, description, 265
rupture, description, symptoms, and treatment, 266
Arthritis, open joints, broken knees, and synovitis, cause and treatment, 357
_Ascaris equorum_, intestinal worm, note, 90
Ascites, or dropsy of abdomen, description, symptoms, and treatment, 86, 193
Asthma, heaves, or broken wind, definition, symptoms, and treatment, 128
Atheroma of veins and arteries, description, 264
Autogenic vaccines, description, 506
Autumn mange, description and treatment, 480
Azotemia, hemoglobinuria, azoturia, poisoning by albuminoids, symptom,
prevention, and treatment, 141
Azoturia, hemoglobinuria, azotemia, poisoning by albuminoids, symptoms,
prevention, and treatment, 141
_Bacillus equisepticus_, cause of pneumonia, 522
Bacteria, kinds responsible for pneumonia in horses, 522
Bacteria vaccines, kinds and uses, 506, 531
Balls, or pills, description and manner of administering, 44
Bar shoe, uses, 601
Bees, wasps, and hornets, stings, treatment, 485
Beets as feed, 56
Bichlorid, use in disinfection, 509
Bighead (osteoporosis)--
chapter by John R. Mohler, 578-582
symptoms, lesions, and treatment, 580
Biliary calculi, or gallstones, symptoms and treatment, 90
Bilocular cavity, or calculus in sheath, or preputial calculus, description
and treatment, 163
Birth, abnormal presentations at, 197-202
Black pigment tumors, or melanosis, description and treatment, 476
Bladder--
calculus, or stone, and tumor affecting, 190
diseases growths, symptoms and treatment, 151
eversion, description and treatment, 152
inflammation, cystitis, or urocystitis, symptoms and treatment, 149
irritable, cause and treatment, 150
neck, spasms affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 146, 225
paralysis, description and cause, 230
paralysis, symptoms and treatment, 148
stone, vesical calculus, or cystic calculus, description, symptoms,
and treatment, 159
worm of kidney, 146
Bleeding--
after castration, treatment, 170
from lungs, or hemoptysis, causes, description, and treatment, 127
from nose, causes and treatment, 103
or flooding from womb, treatment, 205
skin eruptions, or _Dermatorrhagia parasitica_, description and
treatment, 469
Blisters, inflammation, or eczema, description and treatment, 464
Bloat colic, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 73
Blood--
circulation of heart, description, 248
clots in walls of vagina, 207
medicine administered into veins, 48
medium of disease transmission, 511
of penis, extravasation, cause and treatment, 167
spavin, bog spavin, and thoroughpin, description and treatment, 356
Blood vessels--
and heart, diseases, remarks, 250
heart, and lymphatics, diseases, chapter by M. R. Trumbower, 247-273
physiology and anatomy, 247
Bloody urine, or hematuria, cause and treatment, 141
Blowing, high, description, 110
Bluebottle (_Lucilia caesar_), note 481
Bog spavin, blood spavin, and thoroughpin, description and treatment, 356
Boil of eyelid, description and treatment, 282
Boils--
or _Dermatitis granulosa_, 469
or furuncles, description and treatment, 466
Bone--
hip, fracture, or on innominatum, description, symptoms, prognosis, and
treatment, 341
premaxillary, fractures, description and treatment, 336
spavin. _See_ Spavin
Bones--
cannon, fractures, description, symptoms, and treatment, 350, 395
cranial, fractures, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 335
diseases, description, 309
dislocations and luxations, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 361
of face, fractures, description, and treatment, 366
of fetlock and foot, description, 395
of hip, fractures, causes, 188
one system of locomotion, 299, 301
sesamoid, fractures, cause, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment, 352
Botfly, habits and treatment, 93
Bots, injury to horses, symptoms, and treatment, 93-94
Bowels, twisting, volvulus, or gut-tie, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 72
Brain--
and membranes, inflammation, description, 212, 213
and nervous system, anatomy, and physiology, 210
anemia, causes, symptoms, pathology, and treatment, 223
compression, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 221
concussion, causes, symptoms, treatment, and prevention, 222
congestion, or megrims, description, causes, symptoms, treatment, and
prevention, 217
description, 211
dropsy, or hydrocephalus, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 223
Bran, value as feed, 55
Broken knee, open joints, synovitis, and arthritis, cause, prognosis, and
treatment, 357
Broken wind, heaves, or asthma, definition, symptoms, and treatment, 128
Bronchitis--
and broncho-pneumonia, description, symptoms, and treatment, 120
chronic, description and treatment, 110
Broncho-pleuropneumonia, description, 126
Broncho-pneumonia and bronchitis, description, symptoms, and treatment, 120
Bruise of frog, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 425
Burns and scalds, treatment, 483, 496
Calculi--
biliary, or gallstones, symptoms and treatment, 90
or stones, in intestines, description, symptoms, and treatment, 71
or stones, in stomach, symptoms and treatment, 70
renal, description, symptoms, and treatment, 158
ureteric, description and treatment, 158-159
urinary, classification, 157
urinary, stone, or gravel, 154,156
Calculus--
in sheath, or bilocular cavity, or preputial calculus, description, and
treatment, 163
or stone, and tumor in bladder, 190
urethral, or stone in urethra, description, symptoms, and treatment, 162
vesical, stone in bladder, or cystic calculus, description, symptoms, and
treatment, 159
Calk wounds, description and treatment, 405
Callosities--
description, 475
sloughing, horny sloughs, or sitfasts, description and treatment, 475, 496
Cancer, epithelial, or epithelioma, description and treatment, 477
Canker--
of foot, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 418
or grease (inflammation of heels with sebaceous secretion), description,
causes, symptoms, and treatment, 472
Cannon bone--
description, 395
fractures, description, symptoms, and treatment, 350
Capped elbow, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 379
Capped hock, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 385
Capped knee, description, cause, treatment, etc., 383
Carbolic acid, use in disinfection, 509
Carbon disulphid, use against worms in horse, 93, 94
Cardiac enlargement, or hypertrophy of heart, description, symptoms, and
treatment, 260
Caries of cartilage, or tumor of haw, description and treatment, 284
Carrots, value as feed, 56
Cartilaginous quittor, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 415
Cartilago nictitans, or winking cartilage (the haw), description, 276
Castration--
bleeding after operation, treatment, 170
by covered operation, method, 172
of cryptorchids, or ridglings, method, 169
of mare, method, 172
of stallions, method, 168
pain after operation, treatment, 170
successful method, 169
Cataract, remarks, 295
Catarrh--
chronic, nasal gleet or collection in sinuses, causes, symptoms, and
treatment, 99
gastrointestinal, or indigestion, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 76
nasal, or cold in head, symptoms, and treatment, 98
Cerebral hemorrhage, or apoplexy, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 220
Cerebritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 212
Cerebrospinal meningitis, so called, or forage poisoning, causes, symptoms,
and treatment, 237
Cervical choke, description, 63, 64