, 1877-06-30
Care Oh kanrses, Reet.

Care OF Horses seet-
When tho foo; is gone. there Is 40
horse left. There is an o!d adage 10
this effect, the truth Of which Is i con
trover,isle. Ye, uu part Il a h"rSr :
anatomy = worse used Ihau the foot
and there are 10 more tUgHeHi us
eases 10 which Ibe notice of he veie
rinary surgeon i bron9ht than ihose
Of the feet. This c"mes 81 he nu~I I-e
vet obst;natrly maintained fashion oi
rasping, cutting, burning, tsUing, ant
greasiug the hoo:s. Il woaId occupy
too much space here to de cribe She
anatomy of the foot fully, but IL Is
very timely matter just now to c"r-
slider the structure Il the horny outer
covering or erast Of the foot, 10y which
the delicate inner parts are protected.
Horn is a ibrous substance, w Inch
contains - per cent. of water The
fact that II contains water IN lis
Dormal composition is very impor-
.anl one, and needs 10 be stated here,
because, unless specified reasons are
given, very little weight Is generally
accorded to all that may he written
or said about the proper treatment OF
the horses foot, by either horse own
ers. farmers, bIacksmiths or profeS-
sionai hnrseshoers. When horr is de
prired nf wafer il becomes DRY. hard,
and without elasticity, precisely Ike
q piece of dry glue, whlch breaks and
splinters into glossy fragments. 1t is
necessary, therefore, that this water
should be retained, 10 keep the horn
in good condition.
The common practices of burning
the sole to procure lit for the shoe,
OF rasping the outer surface to get a
good shape, and of tarrlng and gfeas
iug the hoof, all tend to drive the
water out OF the horn, and not only
10 harden and contract it, but 10 make
il brittle. In this condition It's useful
ness as protection for the foot is at
once impaired and partially destroyed.
When the sole is burned by contact
with hot shoe, ii is obvious that the
water in the portion OF the born thai
is heated mus; be driven off. That
is so obvious that no more need be
said about il. When the smooth, pol
ished, hard SIrtace of the horn Is
rasyed away, the softer inner tibrous
portion is exposed to all the evil int1u-
ences of evaporation and degradation,
and the numberleSs pores and cells or
inters,ices Of the horn are enabled 20
give up the water they contain.
The horn in this case is also made
dry and brittle, and, of course, COZ
tracts. Tar contains an acid and a
volatile oil, which evapora;es and
leaves hardened pitcby mass. When
tar is applied TO the hoof the acid acts
chemically upon the horn, and hardens
or disintegrates it, and the oil. evap
Grating, leaves a. space between the
fibFes filled with the hardened residue.
1t operates precisely in the same man
ner as when it is applied to leather
as the sole of shoe, for iusiance-as
preservatiYe the leather in a few
days becoming hard and unyielding,
impervious to moisture, and dry.
As with tar, so with grease; both
these substances drive cut the water
from the horn and occupy lis place,
in time hardening and acidiiying the
substance of the boot crust, rendering
it brittle and contracting it.
The substance of the frog IS horn,
but is of softer aud more open text
ure than the sole and crust of the
hoof. 1t is, therefore, more easily af-
tected by injurious conditions, and
when it becomes deprived of It's water
it Shriuks more than the solid horn.
From this explanation Of the charac-
ter of the horny covering of tie foot
any reasonable horse owner may learn
how TO treat the hoof, and how to
avoid iujuring it. When a shoe is TO
be fitted, the edge or wall sole should
be prepared by cutting or raSpIug.
and not by burning. Indeed the shoe
should be fitted 10 the foot, and not
the foot TO the shoe. When, from
bad management, the sole and frog
have become dry and contracted, no
grease OF tar should be used but
water should be used freely, and then
the hoof should be dressed with gly>
cerine, which will mix with water,
and does not displace it. Glycerine
contains no acid acrid properties, but
is soft, bland, emolient, and does not
evaporate Ii therefore softens the
horn, and allows the fibers to expand.
Contracting is thus prevented, or over
come when i: has actual Y occurred
Ne,c York Times.
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