El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-07-17
CARE OF HORSES FEET
The Feet Of A Horse Like the
Foundation of A BridRe.-Caus
es of Lameness and Bad 6dlts.-

es of Lameness and Bad 6alts.-
News Era In Horse Shoein0
Needed For Skilled Horse-shoers.
To do justice to the horse, and make
him perfect gated, you have first to
learn why his gait is not pure, for no
horse will interfere, forge, cross-6re or
stumble that is perfect in construction
aud kept that way, and by thus assist
ing him you will not only do him jus
tice, but yourself as we'll, writes q prac-
tical sheer in the Horseshoers' Journal.
[ am FIRE e to admit hat we need more
education in this line. My delight is
to relieve any poor, crippled horse that
is brought TO my shop, and take pride
in so doing. When the horse shows
symptoms of lameness he should be
taken to the shop at once, SO as to be
relieved of his trouble. This the sheer
may co by properly preparing the foo:
and fitting the shoes best adapted to the
nature of the disease. If the work is
done il a skillful auner q lameness
will soon disappear, and the horse will
travel with gre alter ease and freedom.
L am speaking from practical knowl-
edge, and feel free to speak. [ feel
confident in saying that nine-tenths OF
hte lameness is caused by the neglect
no the part OF those who have charge
70 the horse in not keeping him prop
rely shod.
When the horse roams the prairies
In his natural condition nature provides
him with the necessary moisture to
nourish his feet, aud when used by his
owner he is driven on the soft and
required S far as his fest are concern
ed. Now, mark the charge when the
colt is brought into our large cities and
driven ever hard and slippery pave
ments, and shoed by an unskillful mar,
and the feet neglected by those In
charge. The result is b a they be-
come hard, dry and eventually the an
imal becomes lame from one of the
diseases to which the foot is subjected
Having to see many cases OF this kind,
l am led to believe that If the groom
would pay more attention to horses
feet there would be less lame horses.
1t Is an admitted fact that the coun-
try is on the verge of evolution In the
horse-shoeing business. Depression in
the winters rad is partly due to so
many men letting their horses stand
too long in the barn without enough
exercise to wear out the shoes. In
time the wall Of the foo grows owe
the SHOE. When spring comes n the
owner wants to take q drive In the
park he finds his horss lame. The
heels have become contracted, toes
grow out too long. and the shoe is rest
ing heavily and pinching on the sole
or sensitive part, thereby causing
corns.
1 am led to believe that corns come
ON the horse's foot just as they do
on the hum ~ foot-by a pinch, a
bruise or q bad fitting shoe, and tt e
best waytoc cure them is by letting them
alone, only putting them in shape
where nothing can bea On them. l
find more corns where high heels
and toe calks are used han low oaks
press upon the sole or quarter. or one
that has been on too long, so that the
walls have overgrown until the heel
rests upon the sole or bars, then it
becomes a direct cause of corns. Upon
removing the shoes you will find five
out of eight worn off at the heel,
and perhaps more on one eide than on
the other.
The feet of the horse, like the found
alton of a building, are b support OF
the whole body, and the su~perstructure
raised on 8 bad foundation must fall;
SO the horse with bad feet must soOne
or later stumble and ome down and
become useless to his owner. In the
state of nature the bones of the foot
are SO nicely adjusted and balanced by
the tendons and ligaments of the limb
that there Is no unequal strain brought
upon any part, but each assists in GUS
tanning the Others. In like name
raising or lowering inner or outer
quarter would produce q lateral strain,
and 1 cannot help but believe a ~callous
WAS first formed, and as the shoe
remained IN and the horse travelled it
irritated it all the more SO that in time
it became a deep-seated corn.
In order to treat a diseased foot by
shoeing, the shoer must in the fret
place understand the nature of the
disease; also the cause. After he
thoroughly understands these he may
be successful in bis treatment. AS
soou as contraction IL observed
whether the horse Is lame or mott, the
sheer should use some means to expand
the foot, and by so doing he will prevent
the formation of the eide bones.
The operation of pairing out the foot
is q matter which requires both skill
and labor, connected with good judg-
mept, when properly performed. It
would be impossible to frame any rule
applying to the pairing out Of all
horses feet. for in a horse with up.
right feet aud high heels horn grows
very s~bundantly, while In horses with
fat feet and low heels horn grows
and the toes of such feet are
most always weak. They must each In
turn be varied to meet the degree of
from what may be called a
perfect foot.
After many fntriosted experiments,
Sole ntists have discovered methods for
tol1 ~ lfrncto~tn |