Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-04-22
THE FARM AND HOME.
SOME SUGGESTIONS ABOUT
HoRSESHoEINo.
The Perfect shoe objects OF Mnlehiag-
Early Lambs Home Grown beet
Natures Manure Farm Notes
and Home Hints.

was in the war nearly three years;
shod and handled great many horses
and mules; have seen horses shame
fully abused, and can truthtully say
| don't think that one in hundred
times il was the fault of the horse. or
the best way to manage the case.
have shOd some OF the worst horses 70
shoe; never turned any away on that
account; and, although in my siNtieth
/ year. and cripple, can vet shoe
the worst horse withouI .niuring or
I beating him.
| 10 illustrate: An old German came
to my place, quite distance, 70 get
bad one" shod, and told me he had
heard | shod bad horses and did not
abuse them. | replied that abuse did
not do the shooting. shod the horse
he did not make mismoye. and the
owner seemed TO think that | had
used some sort OF magic ('.wOrds, as
\ he expressed IT'D TO make the animal
stand quiet.
| told him there was as much art
+, in holding the foot so that il was easy
/ for the horse, to avoid holding the
foot so il would cramp him. and 70 be
careful not to excite him in any way,
az there was in shooting the foot in
proper manner, and it could only be
learned by experience.
When the young colt first stands
alone it stands on the frogs Of his
feet, as they are large. prominent and
like jelly. They gradually dry and
harden and press the quarters apart
(Which are close together az birth.
thoroughly contracted, as we call il
in the adult horse). To keep the
hoof healthy the frog must have
natural pressure, and the whole hoof
should be wet at least twice a day.
for a horse at pasture or running wild
would naturally get his feet wet every
time he went to get a drink in the
stream.
| Don't put anything on your horsGs
feet but cold water with a little bran
or salt in 1t. II he Is sick keep his
feet damp with warm, wet cloths.
Don't put corks or Calks on his shoes
to keep his frog from touching the
ground. never saw horse lame
from pressure unless the frog had
been ruined By bad shooting. | have
seen horses stand with weight on the
frog. and the quarters would spread
one-fourth Of an inch, without ninch-
ing.
never saw q horse that had never
been shod have nayicular disease, un-
less il had been kept tied up in d
stable and its feet kept dry. Don't
have him shod unless he needs IL;
don't have the calks on his front
shoes more than half an inch high.
and have them thin, 50 they will cut
in and let the frog have pressure;
have the web Of the shoe narrow, 70
that the sole will get pressure 70 keep
it tough and healthy nail the shoe on
near the toe. so that the foot can have
the natural spring without his sensi-
tive foot pressing sidewise against the
nails.
never saw Aat-footed horses have
! navlcular disease. and they get the
most frog pressure; II Is the strong.
Z hobbled, high-heeled horse that i.
2 sure TO get 1t IL not handled carefully
2 Drive The nails as low and as far
| from the quick as possible, to keep this
shoe on as long as IL should stay on
{ the higher you drive the nail and
: the closer you drive it TO the quick
the more damage TO the hoof.
{ The horn is the heaviest or thick
: est at the toe, and gets thinner 10
| ward the heel or quarters. and II
= often quite thin on the inside Of the
D foot within an inch Of the heel. wheI'
G it gets thicker and Is quito as thick
5 as IL Is at the toe, where il turns
+ front along the frog and gets SO thir
: at the point Of the frog that 1t i
r scarcely noticed, and many men thinl
I; there il no horn around the point o
d the frog.
u The perfect shoe rests only on th,
8 horn to defend the hoof from wearing
/. out: and il should not cover the sol
}, or frog Of the healthy foot Hav
I, the shoe Just as wide at the heels q
G the heels are apart and no wider.
d the shoes are wider apart at the heel
i than the quarters they will act as
! lever when he steps on stones or o
= uneven ground, straining his pasteri
Joints, causing them 20 stock whel
a he stands over night.
l. Some men-who think they kno'
q more about the horse than the Gre
l. ator--cannot get their horses shoe
l. wide enough at the heel. and tn
C consequence is the hoof brushes dow
,r between the heels Of the shoe, an
N the whole weight Of the horse come
l. on the weakest part Of his hoof, III
IT til his quarters and the frog touc
l. the ground between the heels Of tn
n shoe, pressing his heels together,
a There is nothing like experience
n II you can learn by IL. The sccon
d horse owned was a two-year-old coli
ID very fine-haired, and consequent
had very thin horn on her feot. He
&c feet were good, but rather fiat; but
8, .,knew IL all'' then, and was going
G. have high heels on her. So she
D. her with heavy. strong shoe, wit
D, wide web at the toe, and J nailed
- on 20 that 1t did not touch the heel