A Text-Book of Horseshoeing, for Horseshoers and Veterinarians

by A. Lungwitz

Abundant exercise, proper grooming (flexibility and moistness of the horn), regular dressing of the wall, and running barefoot from time to time favor growth; while little or no exercise, dryness, and excessive length of the hoof hinder growth.

The time required for the horn to grow from the coronet to the ground is, therefore, equally variable, and is, moreover, dependent upon the height (length of toe) of the hoof. At the toe the horn grows down in from eleven to thirteen months, at the mammæ or sides in from six to eight months, and at the quarters in from three to five months. The time required for the renewal of the entire hoof we term the period of hoof renewal. If, for example, we know exactly the rapidity of horn growth in a given case, we can estimate without difficulty the length of the “period of hoof renewal,” as well for the entire hoof as for each individual section of the wall. The duration of many diseases of the hoof (cracks, clefts, partial bendings of the wall, contractions, etc.) can be foretold with relative certainty only by knowing the period of hoof renewal.

Irregular growth sometimes takes place. The chief cause of this is usually an improper distribution of the body-weight over the hoof,—that is, an unbalanced foot. Wry hoofs of faulty positions of the limbs are often exposed to this evil; a faulty preparation of the hoof (dressing) for the shoe, as well as neglect of the colt’s hoofs, is in the majority of cases directly responsible for this condition.

If in the shortening of the wall a part is from ignorance left too long, or one-half of the hoof shortened too much in relation to the other half, the foot will be unbalanced. The horse will then touch the ground first with the section of wall which has been left too high, and will continue to do so until this long section has been reduced to its proper level (length) by the increased wear which will take place at this point. In unshod hoofs this levelling process takes place rapidly; such, however, is not the case in shod hoofs, for here the shoe prevents rapid wear, and, indeed this levelling process is often rendered impossible through the welding of high steel calks to the shoe. If this fault in trimming be repeated at the next and subsequent shoeings, and if the faulty relation of the ground-surface of the hoof to the direction of the foot-axis remain during several months, the portion of wall left too high will grow more rapidly, the walls will lose their natural straight direction and become bent. If, for example, the outer wall has been left too long during a considerable period of time, a crooked hoof results ([Fig. 85]) in which the rings are placed closer together upon the low (concave) side than upon the high (convex) side. If for a long time the toe is excessively long, it will become bent; or if this fault affects excessively high quarters they will contract either just under the coronary band or will curl forward and inward at their lower borders. These examples are sufficient to show both the importance of the manner in which a horse places his foot to the ground and its influence upon the loading, growth, and form of the hoof.

Fig. 85.

Crooked (right) fore-hoof.

Wear of the Shoe and of
the Hoof upon the Shoe.

The wear of the shoe is caused much less by the weight of the animal’s body than by the rubbing which takes place between the shoe and the earth whenever the foot is placed to the ground and lifted.

The wear of the shoe which occurs when the foot is placed on the ground is termed “grounding wear,” and that which occurs while the foot is being lifted from the ground is termed “swinging-off wear.“ When a horse travels normally, both kinds of wear are nearly alike, but are very distinct when the paces are abnormal, especially when there is faulty direction of the limbs. While in the majority of horses whose limbs have been stiffened by age and overwork both kinds of wear are most marked at the toe of the shoe, we see relatively fewer cases of “grounding wear” at the ends of the branches (as in laminitis); on the contrary, we always notice “swinging-off wear” at the toe of the shoe. It is worthy of notice that length of stride has much to do with the wear. We observe that with shortening of the stride both kinds of wear occur at the toe of the shoe, and this is rapidly worn away, as is the case with horses which are fretful and prance under the rider, draw heavy loads, or from any other cause, as disease or infirmity, are obliged to shorten their steps. With increase of length of stride the wear of the shoe becomes more uniform.