Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-06-22
Care Of Horses Feet.

When the foot is gone, there is no
horse LETT There is an old adage to this
effect, the truth of which is incontro-
vertlble. Yet no part of horses anat-
omy is worse used than the foot, and
there are no more frequent diseases to
which the notice OF the veterinary sur
geon is brought than those of the feet
This comes OF the unwise yet obstinate
ly maintained fashion of rasping, cut
ting, burning, tarring and greasing the
hoofs. 1t would occupy too much space
here to describe the anatomy of the
foot fully, but it is very timely matter
just now to consider the structure of
the horny outer covering or crust of the
foot, by which the delicate inner parts
are protected.
Horn is a fibrous substance, which
contains twenty-five per cent. of water
The fact that it contains water in its
normal composition is very important
one, and needs to be stated here, because
unless specific reasons are given, very
little weight is generally accorded to all
that may be written or said about the
proper treatment of the horses foot by
either horse owners, farmers, black
smiths, or professional horse-shoers.-
When horn is deprived of water it be-
comes dry, hard and without elasticity,
precisely like a piece of dry glue, which
breaks and splinters into CLASSY frag-
ments. 1t is necessary, therefore, that
this water should be retained, to keep
the horn in good condition. The com
mon practices of burning the sole to
procure a fit for the shoe, or rasping the
outer surface to get good shape, and
OF tarring and greasing the hoof all tend
to drive the water out of the horn and
not only to harden and contract it. but
to max it brittle. In this condition its
usefulness as a protection for the hoof
is at once impaired and partially de-
stroyed. When the sole is burnt by a
hot shoe, it is obvious the the water in the
portion of the horn that is heated must
be driven off. This is so obvious that
no more need be said 'about it. When
the smooth, hard surface of the horn is
rasped away, the softer inner fibrous
portion is exposed to all the evil infu-
ences OF evaporation and degradation,
and the numberless pores and cells or
interstices of the horn are enabled to
give up the water they contain, The
horn in this case is also made hard and
brittle, and, of course, contracts. Tar
contains an acid and volatile oil, which
evaporates and leaves hardened pitchy
mass. When tar is applied to hoof
the acid acts chemically upon the horn,
and hardens or disintegrates it, and the
oil, evaporating, leaves a space between
the fibres filled with the hardened resi-
due. 1t operates in precisely the same
manner as when it is applied to leather
as a sole of shoe, for instance-as a
preservative; the leather in few days
becoming hard and unyielding, impervi-
Gus to moisture and dry. AS with tar,
so with grease; both these substances
drive out the water from the horn and
occupy its place, in time hardening and
acidifying the substance of the hoof crust
rendering it brittle, and contracting it.
The substance of the frog is horn. but
is of a softer and more open texture than
the sole and crust of the hoof 1t is,
therefore, more easily affected by injur-
ious conditions, and when it becomes de-
prived of its water it shrinks more than
the more solid horn From this expla-
nation OF the character OF the horn
of the foot, any reasonable horse owner
may learn how to treat the hoof, and
how to avoid injuring it, When a shoe
is to be fitted the edge or wall sole may
be prepared by cutting or rasping, and
not by burning Indeed the shoe should
be fitted to the foot, and not the foot
to the shoe When, from bad manage
ment, the sole and frog have become dry
and contracted, no grease or tar should
be used; but water should be used free
ly, and then the hoof should be dressed
with glycerine, which will mix with wa
ter, and does not displace it. Glycer-
inc contains no acid or acrid properties
but is soft bland emollient, and does not
evaporate. 1t therefore softens the horn
and allows the fibres to expand. Con
traction is thus prevented, or overcome
when it has actually occurred.-Neu
| York Times.