Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-12-04
farm, aud sJonssIsnld.
Treatment of Horses Feet'


EVERY time that horse comes III from
work. be sure to examine his feet, particu-
larly the fore feet, for 1t often happens
that stone gets fixed In between 'ne snoe
and the frog. and if suffered to remain
there. even for few hours, may cause
bruise or lameness, which little care may
prevent; indeed. whatever gets into the
foot, whether sand, gravel, or stone, should
be carefully removed this will take but
few minutes, and will pay well for the lit
tie trouble it occasions.
Stopping the feet is only practlsed on
the fore feet, and when judiciously per
formed, is attended with very good enectS
but if the sole is flat and thin, 1t VIII DC
best avoided the less moisture such
formed foot receives, the better, as IL
makes the sole yield too readily, and may
tend to lame the horse. A mixture OF clay
and cow-dung is the stopping mostly used;
clay, itself, is toe hard tow is often used
for gig and road-horses, or horses that
have thrushy feet; moss is also useful for
the same purpose,
The manner of stopping horses feetls
to fill the sole so as to be on level with
the shoe; tow or moss should be put in
dry, and water poured on it once or twice
day, according to the moisture required.
The object of stopping horses feet IS to
prevent the sole becoming hard and trlgid
from being too day, and so tanning the
horse
Some horses require their feet TO be
stopped much oftener than others; as
general rule, stop horses feet the nlgnt
previous to his being shoed; once week
will generally be found sufficient; from
Saturday night till Monday morning, is a
very good time to apply stopping, but IN
hot summer weather twice or three times
a week will not be too often.
1t is sometimes the practice to anolnt
the crust or wall of the foot, that is, the
part of the hoof which presents itself to
the eye when the horse is standing on his
feet whether this plan is good or not, de-
ponds on the foot ITSELF To render
rigid, strong foot elastic, the horn should
be saturated with water; and to keep 1t
elastic this should be applied before the
water evaporates; while to keep thin,
weak foot hard and unyielding, without
making it brittle, an ointment should be
used to prevent the absorption of water.
In wet weather, thin foot shouldbe oiled
before the horse goes out, and g. strong
thick foot after the horse comes in; but
dry weather, the ointment should be re-
newed every second or third day.
The oil usually had for this purpose is
fish oil, for amounting the hoof but
mixture made of equal quantities of tar,
lard, oil and bees-wax is a better and more
durable application.
iSh0esng-The proper and timely per-
Torrance of this necessary operation is OF
the utmost consequence to the well-being
ofthe horse. Generally speaking, q month
, is the time between the last and the sue
ceeding shoeiDg. Care should be taken
every time the horse comes in from his
work, to examine his shoes as well as his
feet; for want of this it sometimes hap
pens that shoe drops off in the middle of
journey not only is time then lost, but
the foot becomes injured, and probably the
horse famed.
Fast-working horses require to have the
feet pared at least once month, without
reference to whether they need new shoes,
or not. If the horn be suffered to grow,
the action of the horse becomes impeded.
he cannot step out properly, or place his
foot firmly on the ground from this rea-
son it is necessary, at least once month,
to pare off the superfluous horn, unless the
horse should be one having deficiency of
horn in which case, he may go five weeks
or even more. At ny time, should there
be loose or brol ca nail, or clench
started, or if the horse be cutting, call in
the farrier at once.
The shoe, and the proper time and
mode of its application varies, in accord |
ance with the weight of the horse and its
action, particularly with reference to the
state of the roads, and the nature of his
work. This part of the subject may
however be left to the farrier, who will
be but little fit to be intrusted if he re-
ouires to be told what to do; he should
be the adviser, not the advised.-Anaerican
Stock Journal.