Conceptual Cost Estimating Manual 2nd Edition

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 A WEAK FOOT. THE SOLE OF A
WEAK FOOT.

Such are the outward signs of a weak hoof; but if the person
beholding that sort of foot be in any doubt, let him lift it from the
ground and inspect the sole. That part will also present peculiarities
which can hardly fail to attract attention.
The sole of a weak foot has a thin and irregular margin of crust;
a flat surface; well-developed bars, and a healthy frog. Creatures
with this kind of hoof, when brought to work upon hard roads or
London stones, are apt to throw the foot down with heedless force
at every step, and thereby soon to bruise the sole. These horses
generally have high action, and this circumstance lends additional
force to the blow; the injury reaches the coffin-bone, which begins
to enlarge, and ultimately forces the horny sole outward. A pumice
foot has the appearance of the member represented on the next
page, though the reader must not anticipate the illustration will
accurately indicate every stage of the disorder.
Feet of the above description generally have very weak and
brittle crusts; but the frog almost invariably is large and prominent;
there is no kind of foot which so generally exhibits a healthy frog,
and the next page shows an engraving of the ground surface of a
pumice foot, in illustration of the fact.
There are many methods proposed for amending a pumiced foot.
One is the removal of the shoe; then allowing the deformed foot to
stand a certain portion of time upon flat flag-stones. But as
stamping the foot upon stones produced pumice foot, prolonged
stress thereon does not seem calculated to remove the deformity. A
pumice foot is not a lump of pudding, to be flattened by simple
pressure. In the horse's hoof there is bone and flesh to operate
upon. Even supposing the standing upon flag-stones was beneficial,
what immediate result could be anticipated from a medicine which
was to be administered once in three weeks, and for half an hour
only at each application?
 THE SIDE VIEW OF A PUMICED FOOT.
Showing the swollen or
rounded state of the
sole,
with the brittle and
uneven condition of the
crust.

THE SOLE OF A PUMICED FOOT.

Displaying a ragged
wall, and exhibiting
a very healthy frog
and a bulging sole.

Another artifice is to draw a hot iron over the sole at every

shoeing. The intention is to stimulate the horn and thus render the
sole of greater thickness. But that which may affect the secreting
membrane of the foot may also stimulate the bone to which that
membrane is attached. Thus the intended remedy may turn out to
be a positive aggravation. There are also other methods of intended
relief, but all are equally useless.

A PUMICED FOOT DIVIDED.

Showing the altered state of the internal structures.

A DISH SHOE.
Employed in cases of severe pumice foot.
 The only means of real benefit lies in the treatment of the hoof
and in the mode of shoeing. For the last, select what is denominated
a "dish" shoe; that is, a bar shoe, having the web hollowed out like
to the sides of a pie-dish. The only part of this shoe which touches
the ground is the rim of the inner circle.
This kind of shoe will protect the bulging sole, and if shod with
leather, the protection will be greater, though the shoe will, in that
case, be more difficult to retain. The flat surface at the posterior part
of the shoe presents a point for the bearing of the frog, which can
afford almost any amount of pressure. The many nail holes made
around the shoe denote the difficulty the smith encounters when
fixing a protection of this sort upon the pumiced hoof. The crust of
the foot is always brittle, and the weight of iron employed being
greater than usual requires an extra number of nails to fasten it
securely. The smith consequently, in such cases, has no choice. He
must drive a nail wherever he can find the horn which will sustain
one.
With regard to the horn, keep that continually dressed with equal
parts of animal glycerin and tar. Moisten the hoof with this mixture
twice a day. No improvement may be remarked in a week; but in
two or three months the crust will have become perceptibly less
brittle, and the labor of the smith will be rendered far less
perplexing. For the abnormal condition of the foot—that is
permanent and nothing can be done beyond employing such
artifices as are calculated to relieve the affliction.

SANDCRACK.

Any cause which weakens the body of the horse by interfering

with the health of its secretions may induce sandcrack. Treading
for any length of time upon ground from which all moisture is
absent, by rendering the horn hard or dry, may cause the hoof to be
brittle and give rise to sandcrack. However, this last provocative
seldom operates in this country; when sandcrack occurs in an
English horse, it is generally generated by debility, which leads to the
secretion of faulty horn. So far, however, is this from being the
prevailing opinion, and so little sympathy does the horse receive in
its diseases, that the endeavor, indeed the custom, of all veterinary
surgeons is to continue at work the horse having a division running
completely through the hoof.
Sandcracks are of two sorts. Quarter crack, which chiefly
happens among the lighter breed of animals; toe crack, which occurs
principally with cart-horses, and mostly with those which work
between the shafts.
Quarter sandcrack is of the least importance of the two. It is
oftenest seen upon the inner quarter of the hoof, where the horn,
being thinnest, is most subjected to motion. Usually it commences at
the coronet, extending to the sole, and also to the sensitive laminæ.
A horse thus affected should be thrown up; should be placed in a
large, loose box, and receive soft, nutritious food, such as boiled
oats, boiled linseed, and scalded hay. A little green-meat occasionally
should be allowed to regulate the bowels; greased swabs should be
placed over the hoof and under the sole. A bar shoe should be worn
upon the affected foot. This treatment should be continued till the
horse has recovered from its debility.
With regard to the crack itself, take a fine knife and gradually
scrape off the sharp edges till the division assumes the appearance
of a groove. If the crack does not reach through to the flesh, no fear
need be entertained concerning the lower edges of the crack,
because the horn secreted by the laminæ is of a soft nature, and will
most readily yield. Besides, paring the outer horn often prevents the
inner layer being cracked by the motion of the foot; this being done,
should the division not descend the entire length of the hoof, or
reach from the ground to the coronet, with a firing-iron, heated to
redness, draw a line at each extremity of the fissure. The line need
not be made so deep as will occasion pain; it is only necessary that
the mark should go through the
hard outer crust of the foot to
prevent extension of the
division.
Should the separation be the
whole way down the hoof, it is
as well to adopt either the plan
followed by the late Mr. Read,
or the mode pursued by Mr. QUARTER SANDCRACK.
Woodger, the clever practical Generally met
veterinarian, well known in with, in fast
Paddington. Mr. Read used to horses, upon the
inner side of the
make a semicircular line near fore foot.
the coronet with the hot iron:
Mr. Woodger has for years been
accustomed to draw lines from the coronet to the crack in the shape
of a V, with the same instrument. Both methods have a like
intention, namely, to cut off the coronet from the inferior portion of
the hoof, thereby preventing the movements of the foot from
operating upon the newly secreted horn. However, Mr. Woodger's
plan being the easiest, and quite as effective as that of the late Mr.
Read, is certainly the best.
 A PARTIAL QUARTER
SANDCRACK
DRESSED
AND SHOD.

THE METHODS OF
ERADICATING A
SANDCRACK:
EITHER THE
SEMICIRCULAR OR THE
ANGULAR
LINES ARE EQUALLY
EFFECTIVE.

Sandcrack, when it occurs at the toe, usually extends the entire

length of the foot, and leaves a portion of bleeding flesh exposed.
The laminæ, being opened to the stimulating effects of the air, are
very apt to throw out a crop of luxuriant granulations. These, of
course, are pinched between the two sides of the division. They
bleed freely; often, from the pressure, they turn black, and then
smell abominably. The putrid action, having once commenced, is apt
to extend, and portions of the coffin-bone are likely to exfoliate.
Now to prevent this, so soon as the horse is brought in with a
sandcrack, wash the part thoroughly with the chloride of zinc lotion,
one grain to the ounce of water. The bleeding having ceased, pare
down the outward edges of the separation, and put on a bar shoe,
eased off at the toe, and with a clip on either side of the division. If
the injury has not extended the length of the hoof, you must make a
line at each extremity with a heated iron, as in quarter crack, than
which it is also of more consequence that the coronet should be
isolated; because the external horn being thickest at the toe, is the
more likely by its movements to be influential upon the new and
plastic horn of the coronet.
Should, however, the granulations have appeared, and the horse,
with appetite lost and the head dejected, the pulse thumping and
the injured foot held in the air, appear the picture of a living misery,
first cleanse the wound thoroughly with the chloride of zinc lotion.
Then apply a firing-iron, of a black heat, to the hoof, near to the
crack. The intention, in doing this, is to warm and thus to soften the
horn. This effect being accomplished, pare down or scoop off the
edges—using the heated iron again, if necessary. Do all this leisurely,
and with every consideration for the animal, which endures intense
agony; for anything like violence or impatience tells fearfully upon
the sufferer's system.
The horn being lowered, take a very sharp drawing-knife, and,
with one movement of the wrist, excise the granulation. Set down
the foot, and leave it to bleed; the loss of blood will lower the
inflammation and will benefit the internal parts. Give a little green-
meat to cool the system and act upon the bowels. Then, with the
constant use of the lotion, enough has been done for one day.
The following morning you may again apply the lotion, and
continue to use it afterward thrice daily. Any further lowering may
also be accomplished to the edges of the crack, as well as the
 coronal portion of the horn be
separated from the lower part
of the hoof, by means of lines
drawn as before illustrated.
If the horse must go to
work, remember, it should not
be in the shafts, upon long
journeys, or with a heavy load
behind it. Before the animal
quits the stable, lay a piece of
tow saturated with the lotion
A FOOT WITH TOE SANDCRACK.
within the crack, and bind that
Illustrating the
mode of shoeing in with a wax-end; tie a strip of
with clips, and of cloth over all; give this bandage
easing off at the a coating of tar; and, when the
toe; also horse returns, be sure to
exemplifying the inspect the part. Should any grit
manner of paring
down the hoof, have penetrated, wash it out
and showing the with the lotion, and do not
part where begrudge a minute or two to
granulations are remove that which, if allowed to
likely to appear. remain, may cause the animal
much additional anguish. Then
give the suffering creature a nice, deep bed, some scalded hay, and
a mash made of bruised oats, into which has been thrown a handful
each of linseed and of crushed beans; moisten these last
constituents with the water drawn from the scalded hay, and, if the
horse should not appear hungry, throw among the hay half a handful
of common salt.
The poor man may have some excuse for working an animal with
sandcrack; such a person cannot afford to keep the horse in idleness
for the months which the cure will occupy. But the worst cases of
this kind the author ever beheld have always been in quadrupeds
belonging to wealthy tradesmen, who had ample means to gratify
their desires, but wanted the heart to feel for mute affliction.
 A HORSE'S FOOT DRESSED
FOR TOE SANDCRACK.
Showing the way
in which it should
be bound up
when work is
imperative.

FALSE QUARTER.

False quarter is the partial absence of the outer and harder

portion of the hoof; the consequence is, that the sensitive laminæ,
in the seat of the false quarter, are only protected by their own soft
or spongy horn. This is frequently insufficient to save the foot from
severe accident; it is apt to crack, being strained by the motion of
the hoof. The fleshy parts are then exposed; bleeding ensues, and
fungoid granulations sometimes spring up; these are often pinched
by the two sides of the divided horn, between which they protrude.
When such occurs, the treatment should be the same as that
recommended for sandcrack.
 FALSE QUARTER, OR A DEFICIENCY OF
THE OUTER WALL.

THE ONLY
POSSIBLE RELIEF
FOR FALSE
QUARTER.

No art can cure a false quarter; a portion of the coronary

substance has been lost, and no medicine can restore it. All that can
be done is to mitigate the suffering; a bar shoe with a clip at the toe
may be used, the bearing being taken off at the seat of false quarter.
The portion of crust near to the weakened part should be beveled
off, so as to join the soft horn with an insensible edge. Some
persons recommend a mixture of pitch, tar, and rosin to be poured
over the exposed quarter; the author has not found this compound
to answer; it peels and breaks off upon the horse being put in
motion. A piece of gutta-percha, of proportionate thickness, fastened
over the place, has sometimes remained on for a week, and
answered to admiration.

SEEDY TOE.

It appears not to have occurred to writers upon veterinary

subjects that the horse, which breathes but to work—for the instant
its ability to toil ceases the knacker becomes its possessor—that an
animal which exists under so severe a law, should occasionally be
"used up;" that a creature which is sold from master to master, all of
whom become purchasers with a view only to "the work" each can
get out of the "thews and muscles," should occasionally be
debilitated to that stage which might interfere with the healthiness
of its secretions, is a notion that seems to have been beyond the
reach of those writers who have hitherto composed books upon the
equine race. A separation between the union of the two layers of
horn which compose the crust has been long known; it has been
much thought about, and the fancy has been somewhat racked to
account for its origin. Still, although the human physician has
recorded the brittle state and abnormal condition of man's nails in
peculiar stages of disease, no one seems thence to have argued that
a certain condition of body might possibly affect the hoofs of our
stabled servant.
The method of cure which the author adopted, led thereto by the
admirable lectures of Mr. Spooner, and the success it met, soon
made apparent the fact of its origin; but, before describing this, it
may be as well to inform the reader in what consists a seedy state of
the horse's toe.
The wall of the foot is composed of two layers—the outer one,
the hardest, the darkest, and the thinnest, is secreted by the
coronet; the inner layer, the softest, thickest, and most light in color,
is derived from the sensitive laminæ. These different kinds of horn,
 in a healthy state, unite one with the
other, so that the two apparently form
one substance. The junction makes a
thick, elastic, and strong body,
whereto an iron shoe can be safely
nailed, and whereon the enormous
bulk of the horse's frame may with
safety rest.
SECTION OF A HORSE'S FOOT
AFFECTED WITH SEEDY TOE.
But when overwork affects the
natural functions of the body, the two
kinds of horn do not unite; their
division invariably begins at the toe, as it always commences in the
nail of the human being at the outer margin. If the seedy toe be
tapped or gently struck, it emits a hollow sound; and if the shoe be
removed, there will be found a vacant space between the two layers
of horn; into this space a nail, a piece of broom, or a straw is
commonly pushed, to ascertain the depth of the lesion.
Mr. Spooner advised that the
whole of the detached horn
should be cut away. The writer,
however, insists that the horse
should be thrown up—not
turned out to grass, but placed
in an airy, loose box, and
liberally fed, or otherwise so
treated as its condition may THE APPEARANCE
require. Once every fortnight, PRESENTED BY
for two months, the smith SEEDY TOE WHEN
should inspect the foot, and THE SHOE IS
should cut away so much of the REMOVED, AND
THE GROUND
outer wall as may still be SURFACE OF THE
disunited. It commonly takes WALL IS
three or four months for the INSPECTED.
hoof to grow down or to
become perfect; and rest, with liberal feeding, during this time, is
sufficient to renovate an exhausted frame. A new and sound
covering for the hoof of the invigorated horse is secreted by the
expiration of the period named; nor has it reached the knowledge of
the writer that any animal, after such a mode of treatment, has been
liable to a second attack.
The ordinary method of cure
is to cut away the hoof; then,
having nailed a shoe on, to
send the disfigured horse to
resume labor. Under this form
of treatment, the seedy
division, once confined to the
toe, has extended to the
quarters; the structure of the THE APPEARANCE
hoof being destroyed, the horn OF THE HOOF
was unfitted for its purposes. AFTER THE SEEDY
The weight of the body forced TOE HAS BEEN
the sensitive laminæ from the REMOVED WITH
THE KNIFE.
coronary secretion, and the
foot, after long treatment,
became a deformity. The author has never beheld so lamentable a
termination; but it is described by writers upon seedy toe with a
complacency which seems to regard so grievous a result as the
natural consequence of an intractable disorder.

TREAD AND OVERREACH.

Tread is a very rare occurrence with light horses; the author has
met with but one instance. Then, from the horse being a good
stepper, and from the accident happening toward the end of a long
journey, as well as from certain indications of the wound itself, it was
conjectured to have occurred in the manner depicted below.
 TREAD IN LIGHT HORSES.
The hind foot, from
fatigue, not being
removed
soon enough, is
wounded by the heel
of the
fore shoe being placed
upon its coronet.

TREAD UPON THE HIND FOOT

OF CART-HORSES.
The animal become
unsteady from
exhaustion;
the feet cross, and a
wound results.
 However, among cart-horses such a form of injury is more
frequent; these poor animals have to drag heavy loads, at a slow
pace, it is true, but to long distances; they are generally badly fed.
Farmers' horses, especially during the spring and summer months,
being supported upon green-meat, the watery nourishment
impoverishes the blood, and the exhausting labor undermines the
system. Often the load has to be taken down hill, toward the end of
a tedious journey; the whole burden then rests upon the shafts, and
the wretched horse which is between them rocks under the weight
like a drunken man. The legs cross, till at last the calkin belonging to
the shoe of one hind foot tears away a large lump of the opposite
coronet. A piece of flesh is commonly left upon the ground; the
hemorrhage is extreme, and the wagon is brought to a stand.
The worst case of the kind the writer ever saw occurred after the
preceding fashion; and the carter—who, by-the-by, was proprietor of
the sufferer—left the poor horse in a forge, giving orders that the
smith was to do what he could, or to have it killed, as he pleased.
The smith consulted the writer, and he treated the wound after the
method recommended for open joint, or by bathing it thrice daily
with the solution of chloride of zinc, one grain to the ounce of water.
In a week a large slough took place; this opened the coffin-joint,
and left a portion of the extensor pedis tendon hanging from the
orifice. The treatment was continued; the lameness, which at first
was excessive, gradually grew less; the piece of tendon sloughed
out, and the wound began to heal. It had closed when the animal
was fetched away by the owner; but the writer was unable afterward
to learn whether false quarter ensued upon the injury. This, from the
extent of the wound, the writer would conjecture to have been
probable; indeed, false quarter and quittor are the general
consequences of severe tread.
Overreach is confined to fast horses; it happens to those which
are good steppers. When tired, the feet are apt to be moved
irregularly; thus, one foot is often in its place before the other has
been lifted; the result is, that the inner part of the hind foot strikes
the outer side of the fore coronet. A wound, and frequently a severe
one, is the consequence. False quarter or
quittor is likely to ensue; the treatment
must be the same as was before
described. No poultices are required;
these only add to the weight of the
injured limb, and augment the distress of
the animal. No harsh measures should
be allowed; the horse has enough to
bear; a slough has to take place. This is
a severe tax upon the strength; all the
good food and prepared water the OVERREACH
OCCURRING
animal can consume will not now be DURING THE
thrown away; the treatment is materially EXHAUSTION
shortened by the nourishment being OF LIGHT
sustaining of its kind, and liberal in HORSES.
quantity; but the injury should be
treated only with the knife, and the chloride of zinc lotion described
in the course of this article.

CORNS.

Corns are of four kinds—the old, the new, the sappy, and the
suppurating; all are caused by bruises to the sensitive sole. The shoe
is the passive agent in their production, when they occur in large,
fleshy feet; the thick, unyielding, horny sole is the passive agent,
when they are present in contracted feet. The coffin-bone, in both
cases, is the active agent; the wings, or posterior portions of this
bone, project backward nearly as far as the bars, or immediately
over the seat of corn. When the horse is in motion, the coffin-bone
can never remain still; it rises, or rather the wings are drawn upward
by the flexor tendon, every time the foot is lifted from the earth, and
sinks, because of the weight cast upon it, every time the foot
touches the ground. The wings of the bone, thus in constant action,
when the horny sole is weak, often descend upon the fleshy sole,
and bruise that substance upon the iron shoe; what is called a corn
is the consequence. In contracted feet, where the sole is high, thick,
and resistant, the horny sole does not descend, even when the
immense weight of the horse's body rests upon it. It remains firm
and fixed during every action of the animal—not so, however, the
coffin-bone, which is in continuous motion. The result, of course, is,
the imposed burden forces the wings of the coffin-bone downward.
The horny sole will not yield, and the fleshy sole is therefore bruised
between the wings of the coffin-bone and the horn bottom of the
hoof; a corn is thereby established.
 DIAGRAM
Showing the
position of the
hindermost
part of the coffin-
bone when in a
passive
state; also
portraying the shoe
in the
fleshy or flat foot.
 DIAGRAM
Illustrating the
relative positions
of the
wings of the coffin-
bone, and the
thick,
concave, horny
sole of the
contracted
foot when not in
motion.

Corns in a horse do not answer to those excrescences found

upon the feet of man; being bruises, they consist of effusion in every
instance. The effusion may either be of blood or of serum; blood
constitutes the old and the new corn, serum gives rise to the sappy
corn. The suppurative corn is an after-consequence of either of
those just named; when the effusion has been so large as to defy
absorption, a new action is started up—pus is secreted, and a
suppurative corn is then created.
THE
SITUATION
AND ASPECT
OF AN OLD
CORN UPON A
LARGE, FLAT
FOOT.
 THE DEEPLY-
SEATED AND
SMALL,
SCARLET SPOT
WHICH
DECLARES
THE PRESENCE
OF A NEW
CORN.

An old corn is the least serious, especially when it is easily cut

away; it appears as a black mark upon the surface of the horny sole,
and is little thought of when it can be speedily removed by the knife,
because this shows the horse had a corn, but at present is free from
such an annoyance. When, however, a superficial corn cannot be
scooped out with the drawing-knife, but becomes brighter and
brighter as more and more horn is cut away, till it assumes the
scarlet aspect of a new corn, the matter is rather grave, because it
denotes the horse to have had, and not to have been free from,
corns during the growth of the present sole.
The new corn, as has been just intimated, consists of a portion of
blood effused into the pores of the horn, and is of a bright-scarlet
color. The size is of some consequence, as it best intimates the
extent of the injury; if the stain be small and deep seated, it is of
least moment.
 The sappy corn is the consequence of a more gentle bruise,
when serum and lymph only are effused—the horn being thereby
merely rendered moist, not discolored. This species of corn is not
very common, and by proper shoeing is readily removed.
The suppurating corn is the worst of all; it engenders heat in the
foot, and causes excessive lameness; it creates all that anguish, a
shadowy taste of which the human being endures when pus is
confined beneath the substance of the finger-nail. The foot cannot
be put to the ground; the arteries of the pastern throb forcibly; the
countenance is dejected; and every symptom of acute suffering in a
large body is exhibited.
Corns, which in man are found on the lower members, in the
horse are generally witnessed only upon the fore feet. The writer
has rarely seen an instance of their presence behind; but in
whichever foot they appear, they must be the production of an
instant, though, probably, the suppurative may be an exception; yet
from these always being suddenly observed, even this species are
said to be of instantaneous origin. A horse, when progressing,
makes a false step; a sanguineous or sappy corn is by that faulty
action established. The same horse may trot home perfectly sound,
and be put into the stable for the night a healthy animal; but on the
following morning it may be discovered standing on three legs. Pus
may, in the interval, have been secreted, and the corn may have
assumed the suppurative character.
The manner to examine for corn is, in the first place, to mark the
age of the horse; then observe if, in the trot, either leg is favored.
The animal being young, splint is the common cause of uneven
action; if old, corns are more generally expected; the horse is
brought to a stand and the smith sent for. The man raises the fore
foot, and, taking a portion of crust and sole between the teeth of the
pincers, gradually increases the pressure; he thus proceeds till he
has by successive trials squeezed the sole all round. If the leg, while
undergoing the operation, be withdrawn near either of the nails, the
ideas take a different direction to that of corn; but if the foot be held
steady, the seat of corn is lastly
squeezed. Should no flinching
be witnessed, the examination
is not esteemed satisfactory
until the smith has, with a small
drawing-knife, denominated a
searcher, cut away a portion of
the sole at the seat of corn.
The sensibility will be
extreme should suppurating
corn be present; in that case
the sole must be gradually
removed until the pus is THE SOLE OF THE HORSE'S FOOT
released. That being done, the BEING
TESTED FOR CORNS.
shoe should be taken off and
the foot put into a bran
poultice. By this means the horn will be rendered more soft and the
wound cleansed. The smith, on the following day, must again cut the
foot, every portion of detached horn being very carefully excised.
The horn is itself a secretion, and, in a healthy state, is intimately
united with the source of its origin. When, however, pus is effused,
this always lies between the secreting membrane and the horn,
which has been already secreted. The horn so displaced by the
presence of a foreign substance is called under-run or detached; and
all horn, so under-run or detached, must be removed. When this
operation is properly performed, all signs of lameness will have
generally disappeared. It is usual, however, to tack the old shoe on
again; and having dressed the injury with chloride of zinc and water
—one grain to the ounce—there remains only to examine the foot
from time to time till new horn covers the surface; merely taking
precaution for the present to shield the wound with a little tow,
fastened in its place by a couple of cross splints.
When sanguineous or sappy corns are found, the method is,
firstly to thin the sole, so as to render it pliable, especially over the
seat of corn. Should a sappy corn have rendered the horn moist for
any space, or should the discoloration caused by sanguineous corn
be of any size, it is as well always to open the center of the part
indicated: no matter should the cut release only a small quantity of
serum or a little blood. Take away a small portion of horn; pare the
sole till it yield to the pressure of the thumb. When such a
proceeding is necessary, the bars may be entirely removed, and the
wounds should be covered with some tar spread upon a pledget of
fine tow. As soon as the orifice is protected by new horn, the horse
may be shod with a leathern sole and returned to its proprietor.
Such a course would occupy little time—a week at most. Yet the
great majority of horse proprietors appear to have "flinty hearts," as
nearly all of them begrudge the necessary day of rest to the maimed
animal which has been injured in their employment. The cry, where
the horse is concerned, is "toil, toil!" The veterinary surgeon is often
asked "if absolute rest is imperative." He is frequently solicited to
patch up the poor animal, so that it may do a little work. As day
after day passes onward, the tone becomes more and more
authoritative. The horse is at last too often demanded from the
hospital, and taken to resume ordinary labor before the injury is
effaced. Should no evil effect ensue on such a culpable want of
caution, the proprietor is apt to chuckle over his daring with
another's sufferings, and to blame the science which would not incur
risk, even to propitiate an employer.
Corn is not generally reckoned unsoundness. If a horse be lame
from corn, the lameness renders the horse unsound; but the corn
does not. Such is the beauty of horse logic when pronounced in a
court of justice! A corn may suppurate, or may provoke lameness at
any moment. Still the corn, in the bleared eye of the law, is no
sufficient objection to the purchase of a horse. The suppurated corn
may lead to quittor—still, corn is not legal unsoundness. It is a pity
such is the case, since it leads men to neglect that which is
removable. When the sole is high, the shoe should always be
accompanied by a leathern sole. Liquid stopping should be poured
into the open space at the back of the foot; and at every time of
shoeing, the smith should pare
the sole quite thin, even until
drops of blood bedew the
surface of the horn. When corns
appear in flat or fleshy feet, as
shoeing time comes round, only
have the very ragged portions
of the frog taken away. Have
the web of the shoe narrowed THE POSTERIOR OF A HORSE'S
so as to remove all chance of FOOT SHOD WITH LEATHER.
pressure against the iron. Lower The central
the heels of the shoe, or try a angular mark
bar shoe with the bearing taken indicates the
off over the seat of corn; should place
into which the
that not answer, next put on a liquid stopping
three-quarter shoe: many should be poured.
horses, however, will go sound
in tips, that cannot endure any
other sort of protection to the foot. By resort to one or the other of
these measures, that injury, which in the learned eye of the law is of
no consequence, but which, nevertheless, may lead to terrible
lameness, or even lay the foundation for a quittor, may be greatly
mitigated.
Bruise of the sole is an accident leading to effusion of blood—
so far it resembles corn; but it is dissimilar in not occurring on a part
subject to the same degree of motion, and, therefore, is not so
severe in the consequences to which it leads. It is caused by
treading on a stone, and is removed by paring off the horn which
has been discolored or lies immediately beneath the injury. It seldom
leads to great lameness or gives rise to serious results. It is treated
after the manner directed for corn; but it is always advisable to shoe
once, with leather, the horse which has suffered from bruise of the
sole. The difference between corn and bruise of the sole is simply
this: the first is an injury produced by a cause which is always within
the control of the proprietor, and which, if neglected, is likely to lead
to the most disastrous maladies; the last is purely an accident, to
which any horse at any time is liable, and with ordinary care is not
likely to give rise to any serious consequences.
Prick of the foot is an injury incurred while the horse is being
shod. There are two sorts of this accident: one, when the nail
penetrates the fleshy substance of the sensitive laminæ and draws
blood; the other is when a nail is driven too fine, or among the soft
horn which lines the interior of the hoof, and consequently lies near
to the sensitive laminæ. The first is of the more immediate
importance; but the last may be equally serious in its effect. As the
horse works, the strain upon the shoe bends the nail fixed into soft
horn. It thus is made to press upon the sensitive laminæ, and may
provoke suppuration.
To detect whether the smith is at fault, the foot should be first
squeezed between the pincers as for common corn; then have the
nails withdrawn one by one, and mark each as it is removed. If one
appears moist or wet, have the hole of that nail freely opened. Let
the shoe be replaced, leaving that nail out. Put a little tow, covered
with tar, over the wound, and shoe with leather. If, however,
lameness should still be present, the shoe must again be taken off
and the injury treated as recommended for suppurating corn.
Blame the smith who pricks a horse and conceals the fact; punish
the fellow to the extent of your power. But the man who pricks a
foot and acquaints you with the circumstance, deserves civility. The
last enables you to take proper measures, such as paring out, etc.,
and thereby you avoid all unpleasantness. The first braves chances
with your living property, and deserves to suffer if the hazard go
against him.
 PRICK OF THE FOOT AND BRUISE
OF THE SOLE.
The smaller
opening
represents prick
of the foot: the
larger space
indicates bruise
of the sole. The
extent to which
the horn may be
removed, in the
generality of
cases, is also
indicated.

QUITTOR.

This is a severe and painful disease. Many a horse is, at the

present moment, working with a suppurative wound above the hoof,
within the interior of which run numerous sinuses. The police arrest
the driver of the horse when the condition is so bad as permits the
collar to wring the shoulders. Of all other shapes of misery they
seem ignorant. Animals limp over the stones, every step being an
agony; but the policemen look on at such pictures with placid
countenances. Horses are driven at night in a state of glanders
which renders them dangerous to mankind; yet no officer thinks of
looking at the head of an animal for the sign of suffering or the
warning of public peril. Creatures, in every stage of misery, may be
seen openly progressing along the streets of the metropolis; but so
the shoulders be sound, the brute who goads them forward
performs his office with impunity. Still, it is something gained, that
the law has recognized the want of man's absolute power over the
feelings of those creatures intrusted to his care. Let us hope, as
knowledge extends, the legal perceptions will be quickened. It is
partly with this view that the present "illustrated work" is published.
Quittor is a terrible disorder. To comprehend thoroughly the pain
which accompanies it, the reader must understand the structures
through which it has to penetrate, and the substances it has to
absorb. All parts are slowly acted upon in proportion as they are
lowly organized. Cartilage is the structure into the composition of
which no blood-vessels enter. Next to cartilage is bone, which,
though supplied with vessels, is, on account of its mixture with
inorganic matter, exposed only to slow decay, and the exfoliation of
which is effected at a vast expense to the vital energy. These
substances mainly compose the foot of the horse. In addition, there
is ligament, almost as slowly acted upon as bone; disease in which
substance is accompanied by the greatest anguish. Horn is an
external protection; but that material, though an animal secretion, is
strictly inorganic: when cut it does not occasion pain—neither does it
bleed. If a portion of horn should press upon the flesh it must be
removed by the knife; for, unlike the more highly-gifted structures,
there is no chance of its being absorbed.
The hoof, therefore, being the external covering to the foot of
the horse, and not being liable to the same action as organic
secretions, serves to confine pus or matter when generated within
its substance. Pus could work through the largest organized body;
but it cannot escape through the thinnest layer of horn. Now, most
of the other substances which enter into the composition of the
horse's foot are such as slowly decay; but those parts which slowly
decay being without sensation during health, occasion the most
extreme agony when diseased.
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