Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1894-12-06

POA Abhonb hNb VI bho aOhbo /
Anatomy, the Hoof = A Few
Notes.
SO much 9 been said and writ.
ten already about the Indian Ter
ritory as breeding ground that
little il any more can be added.
Still IL is perhaps in order to men.
tion that the two year old cham
pion, ,Synboleer,2 3 II, was raised at
Kiowa, Kansas, almost in the same
latitude as this, which goes to show
that record breakers can be raised
outside of Kentucky and Califor-
MIA. An offer of $50, 900 was made
for Alex, ,2.03 3 A, last week and re-
fused, which goes to show that
raising trotters is profitable. Alix
is worth more money perhaps than
that, ms she has earned nearly as
much this year That there are a
good many well bred colts now
growing up in this vicinity is a
source of great satisfaction 10 the
breeders and to all others who are
interested in the welfare of the
light harness horse. A great many
of these colts have been sired by a
horse OF the Wilkes strain, who
meyer paced step in his life until
this year and yet nearly all the
colts are PAGERS. PAGERS, by the
way, are easier TO develop than
trotters and come to their speed
earlier than their trotting brethren.
Directly, two year old, 2 OF "a,
cost less than $3.50 tn develop.
Symboleer, two year old. 2.1l 0n
a race) about the same, AID num-
bers Of others could be mentioned
to prove that the actual outlay in
development was practically moth
ing when compared to their earn
ing capacity. There are lots of
men who own really good animals
that are never developed because
of the bugbear expense, when it
would not cost much more than
the cost of breaking colt properly,
TO find out whether he had sp, ed
or not. You cannot find itin front
of a plow or heavy wagon nor in
going over the average roads. Put
your colt in some capable mans
hands who will tell you in thirty
or sixty days whether your colt
will pay to develop or not. This
should not be put Oft until the colt
is five or six years old, but should
be done wh,n yearlings or at most,
two.
In our last issue We had
short chapter on the weaving of
colts and for this one we will take
the foot, which is by far the most
important part Of the horses anat-
omy. The outside of the hoof is
well known to all horsemen. Strip
ping it off we notice around its
upper ring the substance of the
coronet which secretes the horn of
the wall. The shape of the inside
is almost exactly like that OF the
outside. The bars come up con-
siderably at the back and taper TO
a point along the lines of the frog.
Lining the wall and bars are sew
eral hun dred horny leaves and the
inside surface of the frog and bars
are pelted with hundreds of small
holes. Corresponding with the
horny leaves of the wall are an
equal number of sensitive leaves
growing from the bone and fitting
in between their fellows which are
very delicate. The sensitive sole
and the frog are covered with little
projections resembling red velvet
which secrete the horny sole aud
frog. The coffin joint to which
the pastern joint is attached is very
much in shape like the hoof, differ
ing however by coming to a prom.
inent point in front at the middle
of the coronet and in having two
distinct wings which. project back
ward into the heels of the foot.
Looking at it from behind is seen
first the joint surface which slopes
backward and downward and rough
surface sloping downward and for
ward into which the tendon that
bends the foot is fixed. On this
rough surface are two large holes
for the blood supply which form a
reservoir Tor the supply of all the
soft parts of the foot. Between the
wings of the coffin bone is the
navicular bone which works back.
ward and forward over the joint
surface of the pastern and coffin
bones. The free working Of this
little bone is absolutely necessary
and when cramped or interfered
with by contraction or disease is
very frequently the cause of incur
able lameness. At first the lame.
ness is due to pain and soon the
little bone begins to crumble and
rot and the pieces set up an irrita-
tion in the tendons which become
bony and spreading through the
foot form side bones, etc. Now
the chief causes Of contraction are
founder, brush corns and the like.
Founder is an Inflammation of the
sensitive leaves of the foot, caused
sometimes by concussion but more
frequently by indigestion or some
other disturbance of the system,
and all veterinarians agree that th 70
same action is going on all over the
body but not being boxed up it
passes by unnoticed. The sensi-
tive leaves want to swell but can't
and cause fearful pain and some.
times these sensitive leaves let 90
their hold on the horny leaves aud
the foot, no longer able to bear the
weight, the coffin passes almost if
not entirely through the sole;
Thrush is another cause OF contrac-