Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-07-17

vending. of course, upon the degree OF
pressure existing. In some cases, howev-
or. a corn Is the cause Of lameness after
| shoe has been on for a month or more.
| This NAV be due to the shoe having shift
| ed on the foot. or to the growth OF horn
carving the shoe forwards and within the
wall.
The inside heels Of the fore feet are
most commonly affected, because the
shoes for them are always fitted closer on
the inside than the out, and hind feet are
hardly ever affected, because the shoes for
them are always fitted long and wide
LIE, us repeat, corn is simply bruise,
similar in every way to bruise OF our
nails There is injury to the sensitive
parts, followed by discoloration OF horn.
When horse is lame, if on removing the
shoe and gently trying the foot all round
with the pincers, tenderness is shown at
the heel, we suspect bruise or corn Inc
farrier would at once cut away the horn
at the part until he saw it discolored, and
then would say he "had found corn
Imagining this discolored horn to be the
offending substance, he would proceed to
remove it, layer after layer, until he reach
ed the sensitive and now bleeding tissues:
We need hardly point out the absurdity OF
tlllS DTdtllct. uC btdlHCA NUN AP
simply sign of injury to the
sensitive foot. and the removal of
this horn, while it does no good
to the bruise, leaves the foot miserably
weak for weeks or perhaps months. What
would be thought of a surgeon, who, be-
cause his patient had discolored nail,
the result of bruise, proposed to remove
the stained horn and lay bare the sensitive
tissues? No medical man would do such
a thing, and no patient would permit it.
Yet veterinary surgeons and farriers follow
this practice on the horses foot, and horse
owners assent TO it, The result is, that
corns assume fictitious importance, and
the heel, robbed of its horn, is liable to
fresh injury for a long time.
We may be told that the horn is remov
ed so as to release any matter formed as
the result of inflammation 1t is certainly
a plausible excuse, but not a true one. A
professional man should be able to dag
nose the presence of matter without injur-
ious explorations, and matter is never
present unless horse is worked for two
or three days after the appearance. In
about eighty per cent. of the cases In
which farrier processes to have let out
matter he has simply let out straw-col-
ored eff'usion which would have been nat
urally reabsorbed in day or two after the
cause of injury-the shoe-had been re-
moved. The remaining percentage OF corn
cases show matter because from negl-
gence or ignorance the shoe has been al
lowed to remain on the foot, continuing
the injury, and thus set up active lnfiam-
nation.
The rational treatment of corn is to re-
move the shoe, and foment the foot with
warm water--in other words, to remove
the cause Of injury, and help nature to re-
absorb any effusion. If matter forms, it
must be thrown off, Nature does this
through an opening at the top of the wall,
between hair and hOof; man endeavors to
do it by an opening through the ole. Now,
we believe in natures plan, and expert
ence show us that it is the best, if not the
quickest, course for the horses foot. Warm
lamentations facilitate this course, and
therefore the treatment we have suggested
is applicable to all stages. This treatment
does not injure the hOof, and cessation
| of pain, and consequent lameness, can be
| followed by the immediate application of
| a properly fitted shoe. On the other hand
when the bars are destroyed and the sole
cut away, the wall is left without any sup
| port 1t is too weak to properly sustain
weight; if it rests upon the shoe 1t is
pressed either inwards or outwards, and
the recently injured parts are again hurt
Thus, and thus only, it is that the exist
ence of corns can. be said to predispose
horse to their recurrence. A corn is only
temporary accident, like bruised finger;
the one is just as likely to recur as the
other. If a horse remains lame over
fortnight, there is something more than
corn-either badly fitted shoe, or the in
jury inflicted by the farrier's knifc-to
account for it. Verify, the ordinary cure
for corns is worse than the disease
Horses are, we know, frequently lame or
tender for months after having had corn.
Let such animals be properly shod, no
cutting out of the heel allowed, and we
guarantee speedy cure. Remember that
a corn is only a bruise of horn-covered
part Treat it as you would your own
finger under similar circumstances, and
very little trouble will be entailed.-Land
and Water.