No. 24. Hoof-bound—Under Treatment.
Toe-crack, more common to heavy and draught horses, is caused by want of room; the space inside the wall of the foot not being large enough to accommodate the laminæ, it causes inflammation, and breaks out at the weakest point, which is the coronet, and extends downward to the toe, causing the foot to assume the appearance of a cloven foot. (See Plate No. 20.)
Treatment.—Shorten the toe as much as possible, and then pare the sole of the foot until it will yield to the pressure of the thumb. No pressure should be allowed within half an inch on each side of the crack on the toe, for the reason that the pressure on the toe prevents the coronet from uniting. Having prepared the sole of the foot, a fine shoeing knife should be used to remove the horn that is inclined to grow inward on each side of the crack, after which a groove under the coronet, extending on each side of the crack, will be made, and the notches on each side of the groove as already directed. A firing-iron should be applied to cauterize the crack from the coronet downward. Then the crack should be cut away in the center, so as to allow the use of an “expansion plate,” as shown in Plate No. 21. This expansion plate can be made of brass or steel. It is composed of four pieces, as follows: A plate divided in the center into two equal parts, A and B (see Plate No. 21), and a thread cut in the center. Each part is made so as to fit dove-tailed into the crack, held in place with a screw C, and a burr D, underneath, to prevent the screw from pressing the laminæ of the foot. The screw, which has considerable power as a lever, forces the two plates apart, lifts up the wall of the foot which is pressing each side of the crack, and presses it outward. This being done, an open shoe should be fitted, wider than the foot, so as to expand it, which, together with the notches cut in the groove under the coronet, will cause a new and strong growth from each side of the crack, commencing at the coronet and extending downward.
The length of time required to effect a removal of the crack depends on the treatment and skill of the operator. If the foot is expanded by the plate with skill, and the nails in the shoe driven so as to prevent the wall of the foot from closing in on the crack, the plate may be removed at once; otherwise it should remain stationary, which can be done by substituting the small screw E, which will not prevent the horse from being used while under treatment. The use of the expansion plate is not necessary, unless the crack extends the whole length of the hoof. The crack extending from the coronet, partly down the front of the foot, should be treated at once, removing pressure by shortening the toe and expanding the foot, as already instructed; then, by means of the groove and notches, promote a new growth at the coronet.
THRUSH.
Is a disease of the frog, most common to a foot which is hoof-bound or contracted, but all horses’ feet are subject to it when they are neglected. The frog, pressed on each side by the bors of the foot, and from the overgrowth of the hoof, becomes inflamed, and the result is thrush. (See Plate No. 22.)