The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-11-22
coRNs IN HORSES FEET.
Cause and Cure for These Troublesome
Excrescences.

Excrescences.
If horse is supposed to have a corn.
says Whip and Rein, let the shoe be re-
moved; the inside quarters of one, or
both, fore feet upon being pared will
show streaked, inflamed appearance,
The horn will be soft and more spongy
than other portions of the hoof. In bad
or long neglected cases if you follow the
corn with the knife YOU will come to sup
puration. In all such cases one invaria-
bic condition is found-the horse stands
upon thick heeled shoe, and the frog of
the hoof cannot reach the ground. The
whole weight of the horse rests, not upon
its natural, elastic support, but upon
long, horny heels and iron. This con-
dition is violation of natural laws, and
a corn is the first and most easily
managed consequence. The smith,
whose ignorance of the anatomy of
the organ he has disabled is the sole
cause of the trouble. 'cuts out
the corn" and attributes the difficulty to
weak feet, hard pavements, or gives any
excuse he thinks may answer for the
moment, and puts on, perhaps, "bar
shoe" He cannot tell why he puts on a
bar shoe, but he knows it will give tenn
porary relief, and the relief is in this wise
the barmust restupon the frog, and the
heels cut away to allow it to dose. This,
by clumsy continuance of heavy iron,
is getting part of the relief that nature
demands. The true relief is in such a
system of shoeing as will preserve the
natural action of the foot. The natural
action is with low heel, to have the frog
of the foot strike full upon the ground
and press upward, against the downward
action of the coffin bone, just as a spring
acts when weight is thrown upon it.
The horses hoof, continues the au-
thority quoted, is simply boot; inside of
it is true foot. The frog is only part
of the hoof that has a nervous connec-
ton with the living tissue inside the
horn. Just above the frog is the sensible
frog, and on this rests the coffin bone
The vascular bone is connected with the
hoof by elastic lamin9, and moves in the
hoof by the action of the horse, having
its natural rest upon the frog. If the
horse stands upon rim of iron, the CEN
ter Of the foot is unsupported; the points
of the pressure are under each ewing"
of the coffin bone. From lack of action
the frog dries up and loses it's function;
the sensible frog sympathizes in this con-
dition. Circulation and secretion are
lessened. There is more or less fever,
probably not perceived by the groom, or,
if perceived, he "stuffs" the feet, in
Illumination begins at the points of pres
sure under the wings of the coffin bone,
and the horse has q corn. The cure of
this defect is obvious when the cause is
stated; it is to shoe SO that the horse will
invariably stand upon his frog; this must
be secured by the use of q shoe that will
admit no other bearing, and the method
known among horsemen as the Good
enough system. No horse can travel
safely without the use of the frog.
Aside from its all essential necessity as
the natural rest from the bony structure
upon the ground, its expansive power in
keeping the hoof from contracting upon
the inclosed joints, and its promotion by
its action of circulation of blood to the
extremity of the hoof and consequent
growth, the frog has function always
overlooked by the ignorant and disre-
garded by the unrefecting, in that it is
the organ of touch. 1t is the only part
of the hoof that communicates with the
nervous system, and through that to the
brain, and it is therefore the only means
that the horse has Of accurately deter
mining his foothold upon the ground. In
the common method of shoeing, the frog
is taken out of action by the thickness Of
the shoe, and the horse is deprived Of its
use. Upon no muscle in the body is he
more dependent for healthful, natural
action, and from the moment the frog is
displaced by the blacksmith's iron the
decay of the horses power begins. Con-
traction, quarter cracks, toe cracks, ma
vicular disease, inflammation, and, more
troublesome than all else, corns usurp
the free elasticity Of nature, and the an.
imal commences his downward course