Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-07-04
Corns In Horses.

shoe rests evenly upon the proper bearing |
surface of the foot, no corn can occur, but |
when the surface of either foot or shoe Is
Irregular then the most prominent point |
of contact is pressed upon unevenly and |
bruised. A corn is bruise and nothing |
more, save that usage has confined the /
term to bruises of one part of the foot--the |
angle of sole between the wall and bar. |
This part of the foot is most liable to inju- |
ry by uneven pressure because 1t Is in re- |
lation to the termination of the shoe |
If the end of the shoe does not reach |
the extremity Of the heel, IL forms |
point upon which the yield |
ing horn is pressed at every step. Short |
shoes then are most Objectionable, and we |
find, frequent cause of corns. They are |
often purposely employed on hunters, and |
on horses with capped elbows, seldom |
really necessary, but if SO, should be very |
carefully fitted. BY way of avoiding corns |
it is the common practice Of many farriers |
to tease the heel of the shoe," that is, to |
so fit it that the last inch of the shoe takes |
no bearing on the foot A space is thus |
left between the shoe and foot in which |
one might place penny piece |
This is one of the greatest
evils of shoeing, for not only is an
inch of the best bearing surface of the
foot unused, but increased pressure is
thrown upon the spot where shoe and
foot are in contact. Instead of prevent
ing corns, it is common cause, and why
it should be so will be understood when
we say that the seat of the corn is about
an inch in front of the extremity of the
foot, in fact, just at the spot upon which
this leased heel" throws most weight
Corns may be due to an uneven surface of
foot not of shoe, as when the wall at the
heels is lower than the bar, in which case
a level shoe is almost certain to act as an
exciting cause.
Lameness from corn usually shows itself
about q week after the horse is shod, de.
pending, of course, upon the degree of
pressure existing. In some cases, howev.
er, corn is the cause of lamcness after a
shoe has been on for a month or more.
This may be due to the shoe having shift
ed on the foot, or to the growth of horn
carrying 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 alwaysefitted long and wide.
: Let us repeat, corn is simply bruise,
similar in every way to bruise of our
g nails. There is injury to the sensitive
l parts, followed by discoloration of horn.
When horse is lame, if on removing the
shoe and gently trying the foot all round
1 with the pincers tenderness is shown at
: the heel, we suspect a bruise or corn. The
: farrier would at once cut away the horn
+ at the part until he saw it discolored, and
then would say he had found corn
G 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.
e We need hardly point out the absurdity OF
r this practice. The stained horn is
e simply a 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
q would be thought of surgeon, who, be
1 cause his patient had discolored nail
1 the result of bruise, proposed to remove
G the stained horn and lay bare the sensitive
! tissues? No medical man would do such
r thing, and no patient would permit it.
:. Yet veterinary surgeons and farriers follow
+ this practice on the horses foot, and horse
c owners assent to it. The result is, that
y cOrns assume fictitious importance, and
the heel, robbed of its horn, is liable to
r, fresh injury for a long time.
y, We may be told that the horn is remov
. . ed so as to release any matter formed as
e the result of inflammation. 1t is certainly
= a plausible excuse, but not a true one. 4
professional man should be able TO dag
:, nose the presence of matter without injur
y 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 ou
. matter, he has simply let out a straw-col
~ ored etfusion which would have been nat
g urally reabsorbed in a day or two after the
o cause of injury-the shOe-had been re
l. moved. The remaining percentage of corr
e cases show matter because from negi
u gence or ignorance the shoe has been al
II lowed to remain on the foot, continuing
=, N the injury, and thus set up active intlam
nation.
The rational treatment of corn is to re
move the shoe, and foment the foot will
warm water--in other words, to remov,
the cause of injury, and help nature to re
n absorb any eflusion. If matter forms, i
a must be thrown off Nature does thi
Is through an opening at the top of the wall
m between hair and hoOf man endeavors Il
,e do it by an opening through the sole. Now
* we believe in natures plan, and expert
ence show us that it is the best, if not tn
quickest, course for the horses foot Warn
~ lamentations facilitate this course, ant
- therefore the treatment we have suggested
m ~ is applicable to all stages. This treatmen
No does not jure the hoof and cessation
~, of pain, and consequent lameness, can b
:, - followed BY the immediate application O
~ properly fitted shoe. On the other han,
~ when the bars are destroyed and the sol
cut away, the wall is left without any SUI
en- port, 1t is too weak to properly sustai
he weight if it rests upon the shoe it
tie pressed either inwards or outwards, an
IN the recently injured parts are again hur
I'll Thus, and thus only, it is that the exis
OF ence of corns can be said to predispose
Id horse to their recurrence. A corn is onl
IN a temporary accident, like bruised finger
the one is just as likely to recur as til
1t other fla horse remains lame over
We fortnight, there is something more than
he corn-either a badly fitted shoe, or the il
ID. jury inflicted by the farrier's knife-t
lis account for it. Verify, the ordinary cul
er, for corns is worse than the diseas
IN. Horses are, we know, frequently lame
ce tender for months after having had a cor
ny Let such animals be properly shod, Il
cutting out of the heel allowed. and "
guarantee speedy cure. Remember tht
"5 a corn is only bruise of horn-covere
- part. Treat it as you would your ow
Vn ~ finger under similar circumstances, an
I.,o very little trouble will be entailed.-Ldi
M and Water.
ks The German Government is Serious
Ith troubled at the excessive emigration of i
"a citizens to the United States, and no meal
to are left untried to prevent the exodu
he But, Notwithstanding all the efforts of Il
ch authorities, every ship from German por
comes loaded with the bone and sinew
me the fatherland. Herr Engel and D
in Kapps, of the statistical office in Berli
on aver that the French indemnity fun
on great as it is, is not enough to compensa
ia, Germany for her losses by emigration
tc., this country. But Prince Bismarck I