The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

120 The Management and Treatment of the Horse,
the stones, as they have no cover to the sole. In this
instance they are strictly true, for they, by a free use
of the knife, have taken away all the true cover with
which Nature had fortified the foot, seeing the nature
of the work the horse was destined to fulfil. If the
horse is shod with narrow web shoes, and the smith
forbidden to touch the sole or frog with the knife, the
horse will be much less liable to receive injuries from
treading upon stones, as the shoe is less liable to pick
them up, and Nature has herself put a protection on
the sole to prevent injury of a far superior material to
any of man's invention. It must be evident that this
is a case which can only be successfully treated by a
veterinary surgeon or a man well versed in the
superstructure of the foot. In most instances it
becomes necessary to cut away the greater portion of
the horny sole of the foot, and thereafter to restore
the healthy state of the tender surfaces beneath.
When this has been effected the horn will be quickly
reproduced, but when much of the horn of the sole
has had to be cut away, it will take at least six months
to restore fully that which had been removed so that,
the horse may be again fit to work. To restore the
healthy condition of the foot very active means must be
adopted ; caustic applications alone will destroy the
ulcerated surface. To ascertain the state of the disease
a probe must be used, and if it touches any of the bones
it is doubtful if a cure can be effected even by the most
skilful. One thing is certain, if it is found when the
probe is inserted into the fistulous openings on the
coronet that the direction of the sinuses is backward, it