The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-07-25
soIENrlFlo noRsEaNoEINo.
Art which Few Blacksmi1hs In the west
z..e p..a.a

SCIENTIFIC AoRsESHoElNo.
Art which Few Blacksmlshs In the Wese
Seem to Possess.
The proportionment and e~quipolieney
of the feet are indispensable clements
Ia farriery for the well-being of the
feet and legs and the immutable pro-
duetion Of a perfect and rhythmicaal
gait. The slightest deviation from
the proper medium in preparing the
feet may excruciatc the animal and in1
cite calamitous injury to his motor
power. 1t may be the p~redisposing Gauss
of corns, q%uittor, compression of the
bones, sand cracks, contracted heels,
thrush, speed cracks $50 called) i~ntrotj
tiers, etc, Every horse should be shod]
level, but what is the true conception
of this rule? It does not imply, ac1
cording to the common s~upposition,
that the foot alone should be perfectly
level, nor that each heel should measured
exactly the same distance from the con-
nection Of wall and flesh to surface
lay, nor that the sides of the foot
should be correspondingly level from
the heels at center of foot at point of toet
The feet should be prepared that the
articulation should be correct through
out the entire system of joints in the
feet and legs. Then, and not until then,
the horse will be shod level. Horses
possessing a faulty, or, at least, pee
culiar conformation, require certain
portions Of their feet to be pared from
one-sixteenth to one-fourth of an inch
Tor ever more in rare cases) lower than
other points of the feet in order to get
the juncture of the bones mechanically
true. This is often true of pointing OUT
ward, interfering, knee-hitting feet in
front and interfering feet behind; all
though horses symmetrically formed do
unnatural attitudes on account
of the faulty position.of the foot pro4
duced by an excessive growth Of hoo6
beneath either side of the coffin bone.
II a recent address before the Farm
ers' club, of New York Prof. Roberg
said: ut is not necessary with many
horses 10 look at the form of the foot
We can tel by his way of travelling what
to do with the foot without picking it
up" / am going further than the pro1
lNSNOA" ALI hAO5 wv al AAfT
Germ the faulty action by the form of
the foot without seSng him travel
These statements corroborate each
other. In substance it is possible for AM
unbalanced and improperly proper
toned loot to produce all IF the foot
diseases and imperfect modes of tray4
cling, including elbow hitting, pitching,
scraping,~ interfering and knee banging,
etc. And it is equally possible to pres
vent or eradicate them by proper shoes
ing, with the exception of rare cases
Of knee banging and interfering in
front, which are occasionally due to
unsymmetrical legs. 4
A foot should be in proper proporl
ton to the size of the horse, and ball
anced so that the articulation will be
correct in all the joints of the legs. Al
foot may be in proper proportion and
still remain unbalanced-that is, it
may contain a correct number of cubic
inches, but the amount of horn at cer-
tain points may be too excessive to com-
ply with the laws of nature, while at
other points the growth may be insult
hcient. 1t requires the eye of an ex4
pert in balancing the feet of horses pos
sessing a peculiar conformation. No
certain rule can be adopted for this pur-
pose, since the conformation varies I'M
different horses, but the writer will subs
Unit a rule, absolute and invariable, for
proportioning the foot, which a novice
can put into practical use. The depth at
center, in front of foot, should measure
about so per cent. of its diameter, and
this measurement should be 2 2-3 times
the depth of the heels from corn5
airy band to surface lay, or figures
very close to these.-Northwestern
Lumberman.