Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-06-06
HoRsEs iM suMMEa


Feeding and Harnesslng.
The weakest part of a horse La the
foot, and this is the most important |
part of the animal. for mo foot, no
horse" is as true as it Is a trite and |
adage. and no other part of
the anatomy of this Indispensable an
imal is SO much mismanaged as the
foot The foot is perhaps most neg
when judicious treatment is required
to repair the damage inflicted during
the hardships of the winter. and when
the feet may be brought under repara-
tive treatment most easily and effect
lively.
Shoes are used for the preservation
of the feet. and justly so during the
winter season. when the frozen ground
wears down the horn with great rapid
ity, and by its uneaven surface would
bruise and wound the worn and tender
sole, unable to repair by new growth
the excessive wear and tear of the
roads. But when this need has passed
and the earth is soft and yielding
and the work of the fields
favor the new growth and expan-
sion of the hoof the shoes are no
longer required. but are an injury
rather than a help. Under such cir
cumstances they are not only useless.
but, being retained, they cramp and
bind the hoofs and exert an injurious
pressure upon the horn and the exceed
ingly sensitive membranes which con-
meet this outer casing of the foot with
the vascular tissue and tendons in
closed within it. The horn of the foot
may be well compared with the bones
of the head; the hoof. in fact, in some
respects, serves q similar purpose to
that of the skull, which protects the
brain from injury, and when the hoof
is struck with hammer and the horse
finches, quite as much pain is inflicted
as when a man might be struck on the
head in a similar manner. And when,
by congestion of the brain by inf1am-
nation and excess of blood in it, the
head suffers SO severely, in much the
same manner the foot suffers ex-
cruciating pains, and the whole system
is disturbed sympathetically, when the
extremely sensitive organs bound up
in the hoof are inflamed and distended
by the pressure of excess of blood.
Thus it becomes matter for serious
care how the feet of a horse should be
managed at this season.
There is certainly no need for shoes
on the feet now, and more especially
none for the retention of the old shoes
which have done service up to this
time. These should be removed and
care taken to draw out all the broken
nails. The foot will then expand on
every pressure of the sole on the soil,
and this healthful action will rapidly
encourage new growth of tissue, the
increase of new horn, and a stronger
and more elastic foot and movement.
Nothing is more useful for a hoof that
has been contracted by bad manage
ment or by disease brought on by bad
feeding or injury than to remove the
shoes and provide work on plowed
ground or afford run on a smooth
pasture. There is no necessity for
shoeing farm-horses in the summer;
they will be far better without shoes.
but to permit the old shoes to remain
to be gradually worn off is very great
mistake.
Next to the foot the stomach of a
horse is the most ill-used part of the
beast Feeding is usually done with
out any care. The rack is filled with
hay and the feed-box with grain, and
water is given as soon as the animal is
brought out of the stable to go to
work with the stomach filled with
dry food. This courts trouble. It
makes a waste of food. 1t frequently
causes a fit of collie. and it washes the
food out of the stomach into the in
testines, through which it passes I'M
digested and uselessly. often injurious
ly, and escapes with the excrement.
animal to eat its food, and water
should be given in small quantity only
after the morning feeding. and always
before the noon and afternoon meals.
Cut feed is always better than dry hay
and whole grain in the summer. It is
eaten more slowly; tire coarse and fine
thoroughly masticated together. and
the digestion of it is better. 1t is
more laxative than dry food, and bran
may be fed in this way better than in
any other, and bran is an excellent
summer food for horses. The hay,
too, tends to neutralize the effect of
the green food used, by which the ac-
ton of the skin is increased, and ''soft-
ness" or excessive perspiration is in
duced.
The ease and comfort of a horse and
consequently its profit to its owner are
increased by well-ftting harness. 1t
is a shame to an owner that his animal
should be CALLED and raw by the
chatting of collar or saddle Horses
differ in their make up; in some the
bones are more prominent than in
others. the limbs are more angular,
and the shoulder slopes differently;
but nevertheless. as rule, collars and
harness are mads on a fixed model.
This causes gals anu sores, which
greatly interfere with the usefulness
of the animals. not to speak of the
tenderness of the skin caused by the
profuse perspiration. The shoulders
should be washed with salt water
every evening; on the least sign of H.
jury by the collar or the harness these