Shod hind foot, with splint dressing.
In slight injuries to the velvety tissue of the sole or frog, accompanied with moderate pain, it is of no benefit to enlarge the opening, though the horn of the sole or frog should be thinned for the space of an inch or more around the wound, followed by cooling applications. Deep, penetrating wounds accompanied with intense pain require the attention of a veterinarian.
Often some form of dressing is necessary, and this is usually held in place by a special shoe. For slight injuries, such splint-dressings as are shown in [Figs. 188] and [189] are sufficient. Whether such a dressing be applied to the front or hind feet, the shoe should be well concaved upon the hoof-surface. The dressing is held in place by thin splints of tough wood, which are firmly wedged between the shoe and hoof.
Fig. 189.
A practical “splint shoe” for hospital use.
In those rare cases in which it is necessary to maintain continuous pressure upon the seat of the wound, and to protect the entire plantar surface of the hoof, a covered shoe ([Figs. 190] and [191]) is recommended. This shoe is provided with a sheet-iron cover, having at the toe a spur which fits into a corresponding hole in the toe of the shoe, and fastened at the heels by means of screw heel-calks.
3. Calk-Wounds of the Coronet.
All tread-wounds of the coronet, caused by the calks of the opposite shoe, by the shoes of other horses, or by forging, are known as calk wounds, or simply as “calking.” The injury itself is either a bruise or a bruised wound, followed by inflammation of the coronary cushion and an interruption in the formation of horn at that point. It occurs most often in winter from sharp calks, especially on the hind feet. The common seat of the injury is the coronet of the toe and inner side of the foot.