Wire Marks Over Side-Bones.
Instances have been disclosed where gashes have purposely been cut with a knife on the hoof head just over a prominent side-bone so that when the wounds healed and left large scars the side-bones might be laid to a wire cut. This trick is mostly used in the case of a stallion that might, on account of a side-bone, be refused a license for public service in states where laws are in force for the supervision of the horse breeding industry.
In Wisconsin, which was the first state to enact a stallion service law, we found large scars over side-bones on both fore feet of a pure-bred draft stallion. In another case, where a complaint was filed to the effect that a stallion was unsound from side-bone, the owner claimed by letter that the side-bone was due to a calk wound. Examination by a veterinarian disclosed the fact that the wound scar was over a side-bone on a hind foot, and there were two large side-bones on each fore foot and no scars on the latter. The state license of this horse was promptly cancelled for cause.