Rational Horse-Shoeing | Page 5

of proper size
laid upon the prepared crust would give an even bearing with the frog
all over the foot; then, as the calk wore away, the pressure would come
more and more upon the frog and the foot would retain its natural state
during the life-time of the horse.
A colt thus shod could not have a corn, for a corn is an ulcer caused by
the wings of the coffin-bone pressing upon a hard, unelastic substance.
When the horse raises his foot the coffin-bone is lifted upward by the
action of the flexor tendon; when his foot touches the earth the weight

of the animal is thrown upon the same bone, and, if unsupported by the
natural cushion of the foot, the action of the bone pressing the sensitive
sole upon iron causes the bruise which, for lack of another name, is
called a corn. The horse thus shod would never have a quarter crack,
for that is the immediate effect of contraction caused by the absence of
the expanding action of the frog and the consequent dead condition of
the hoof from want of circulation and proper secretions. The horse
would be equally free from "drop" and "pumiced" sole, seedy toe,
thrush, and kindred complaints.
INCIPIENT UNSOUNDNESS.
[Illustration: FOOT, SHOWING SHOE AND FROG.]
It is almost impossible to find a horse perfectly sound in his feet, unless
one looks (strange as it may seem) into the stables of the Third Avenue
Railroad Company, or those of Adams' Express, or Dodd's Transfer
Company, or into some of the other stables where our shoe and system
are in faithful use; we will therefore call attention to such a case as will
be generally presented at the forge: A good young horse, shod for
several years upon the common plan, and in the early stages of
contraction. We find he has on wide-web shoes, weighing about twenty
ounces each; these may be smooth in front and calked behind; they bear
upon the sole and heel. In place of a frog, we discover a point of hard,
shrunken, cracked substance, neither frog nor sole. We cut the clenches
and take off the relic of ignorance and barbarism, throwing it with
hearty good-will into the only place fit to receive it--the pile of
scrap-iron. We examine carefully to see that no stub of nail is left in.
The heels will be found long and hard. Our object being frog-pressure,
to get the vivifying action of this tactile organ upon the ground, we pare
down the whole wall; we soon come to signs of a corn--perhaps a drop
of blood starts; but as we do not intend to put the weight upon the heels,
we are not alarmed. Having cut all we can from the heels and still
finding that the frog, when the shoe is laid on, can not touch the ground,
we knock down the last two calks and draw the heel of the shoe thin;
this must give us a bearing upon the frog and the sound part of the foot.
We use the lightest shoe, truly fitted with the rasp, not burned on. The

horse should then be worked regularly, and he will experience at once
the benefit of a return to "first principles" and natural action.

[Illustration: FOOT, WITH SHELL REMOVED.]
CHAPTER V.
SIMPLE CASES OF CONTRACTION.
Contraction, in a greater or less degree, is exhibited by all horses, of
every grade, that have been shod in the common way, except in those
more unfortunate cases that have resulted in a breaking of the arch of
the foot, from lack of the natural frog support, when the phenomena of
"dropped sole" are found, and the usual accompaniment of "pumiced
feet."
It may seem superfluous to say that the power and action of the horse
are greatly restricted by contraction.
The cartilaginous fibre that forms the bulk of the substance of the foot
behind the great back sinew is squeezed into narrow space, the working
of the joints compressed, and inflammation at the joints, or at the wings
of the coffin-bone, is excited; in worse cases navicular disease is
established, or, from inadequate circulation, thrush holds possession at
the frog, or scratches torment the heels.
When simple contraction--shown in the narrow heel, dried and
shrunken frog, and "pegging" motion of the horse--is the case, our
design is at once to restore the natural action of the foot. This must be
done by expansion, and that is to be had from frog-pressure, according
to the directions in the preceding chapters. If navicular disease has
commenced, and the animal is decidedly lame, we have a difficult case.
The membrane of this important bone, in some cases of contraction,
becomes ulcerated, and the bone itself may be decayed, or adhesion
between the coffin-bone