Essays on horse subjects

As with many other subjects relating to horseflesh, there is a wide diversity of opinion as to the treatment of the horse’s hoof, particularly as to that phase of it which has to do with shoeing. In New York, especially, there is a deeply rooted prejudice in favor of allowing the hoofs to grow out to very considerable proportions. If you ask some of the strong advocates of this practice their reason for it, you get the nonexplanatory answer that they like to see a horse with a good foot. The question then naturally presents itself: Does a luxuriant growth of horn constitute a good foot, and is a long hoof conducive to the welfare of the foot and that portion of the extremity above it? There is no doubt you can take liberties with a horse’s foot with impunity under some circumstances, but if you want a horse to do everyday work, the nearer you get a hoof to its proper dimensions the better for the foot and the leg above it. For ordinary work the hoof should be kept of such dimensions that every part of the lower surface of it shall bear its proportionate amount of weight, and that there shall be no disturbance in the proper relations of the various parts that make up the legs and feet.

Dealers keep their horses’ toes long because length of toe increases their action. A horse with long toes is bound to exert more muscular force in order to raise his feet off the ground and extend them in progression; consequently his action is increased. As they do not work their horses hard, but merely give them exercise enough to keep them well mannered to show to their customers, they do not as a rule experience the ill-results they would if they were worked fairly hard. The same remarks apply to heavy harness show horses, that are simply kept in condition to show all the style and action possible.

Everyday work, however, is another matter. The dealer and showman is right from his standpoint, but not from the standpoint of the owner who is looking for everyday service.

Too long a toe acts as a lever and very much increases the tension of the tendons and ligaments that support the fetlocks, rendering them liable to strain, and also increasing the tendency to windgalls.

Too long a toe is also a fertile cause of corns, as it increases very much the pressure on the heels and consequent liability to bruise the quick of the foot at that place, which bruise constitutes a corn.

Besides having the toes too long, the heels are allowed to grow down, taking all the pressure off the frog. Nature intended the frog to bear its proper proportion of weight, and, if it doesn’t do so, it shrinks, the heels contract, and the inner quarter curls in and acts as a wedge between the shoe and the quick, and is thereby another cause of corns. Too long a hoof hastens fatigue, as the increased exertion necessary in raising and advancing the foot in progression augments the expenditure of force. The tendency to “interfere” is also much increased.

This prejudice in favor of keeping the hoofs long has been brought about and encouraged largely by the example and expressed opinions of dealers. A dealer sells a horse with long hoofs, and the purchaser sends him to the forge. The shoer, unless he has been otherwise definitely instructed, and if he understands what is best for the horse’s legs and feet, will reduce the hoofs to their normal proportions. When the owner drives or rides his new purchase again, he finds the action curtailed, and thinks the horse is going sore. He applies to the seller of the horse, who tells him that he has had his feet cut away so much that it has made him sore. This might be the case in exceptional instances, but very rarely.

In addition to reduction of the hoofs in size, the shoes may be lightened, which further lessens the action. What are called “green horses” are very apt to go sore if put abruptly into work, from the fact that their tissues have not been by degrees hardened for work; in other words, they are not in condition, and it will take some weeks before they can be safely put into anything like hard work.

After reading the foregoing, it will naturally be asked: What is the guide in determining the dimensions to which the hoof should be reduced at the time of shoeing? The practised eye of the man who understands the natural poise of the horse’s leg can determine at a glance how much to reduce the hoof so that every part of the leg and foot will approximately bear its due proportion of weight. The direction of the line of weight in the extremities varies in different individuals and nature can be assisted by regulating the direction of this line in order that no part shall be unduly taxed. The horse with the straight pastern and high heel is apt to suffer from the ill-effects of concussion, while the oblique-pasterned horse is more likely to suffer from strain. The ill-consequences of these defects of formation can be neutralized in a measure by regulating the length of hoof according to circumstances. For instance, the disadvantage of long and oblique pasterns can be overcome in a measure by keeping the hoof shortened up as much as possible, thereby reducing the tension on the supporting tissues of the fetlock. In the same way the elasticity of tread can be promoted in a straight-pasterned horse by reasonable length of toe.

Nature in some instances supplies compensations for defects of formation. In the fore extremity, the oblique shoulder, long arm and forearm and smooth flexion of the joints may in a measure counteract the injurious consequences of calf-knees and unduly short and straight pasterns. Added to this there may be that lightness of step, with which some horses are endowed, that has its determining cause in the nervous system, and which so much aids the wearing ability of the legs and feet.

Fleming, who is a justly recognized authority on horseshoeing, gives as a guide to determine the amount a horse’s hoof should be reduced at the time of shoeing, that the hoof should be shortened by the rasp until it is flush with what is called the “white line.” The “white line” is that portion of the hoof that forms the connecting medium between the outer margin of the sole and the inner and lower margin of the wall. Its outline is very clearly defined in a freshly rasped hoof. Fleming, doubtless, assumes that the sole and white line have not been reduced with the knife, but have been allowed to remain, as nature intended them, of their normal thickness.

Just here it may be remarked that the practice of paring away the sole of the foot, or in other words, thinning it, is a pernicious one.

The shoer appears to like to do this, as it cuts very easily and gives, as he thinks, a “neat” appearance to the hoof. The owner appears to endorse this, as he is very careful to have his groom stop the feet, forgetting that he has permitted the shoer to remove a much more efficient stopping than any artificial one in the outer surface of the sole. This is very easy of explanation and illustration if one takes an unmutilated hoof. First of all it must be noted that the outer hard and tough crust, called the wall, grows out indefinitely, unless it is worn or broken off by contact with the ground or reduced by the instruments of the former. This is not the case with the sole, for it is so constituted that after it attains a certain thickness, by a process of nature it exfoliates of its own accord, thus maintaining its normal thickness. These outer scales that keep coming off are nature’s stopping. Why? Because by protecting the inner and deeper layer from the drying effects of the air, they maintain moisture that is necessary in the sole. If, by paring, you cut through and examine a normal sole, you will find that the part next to the quick (the part freshly secreted by the quick) is moist, and as you proceed to the surface of the sole it gradually gets dryer, the outer part being almost entirely free from moisture and admirably adapted to protect the inner and moister part until it is gradually forced outward by fresh growth from within and becomes in its turn a “stopping” for the inner and freshly formed layer of sole. What happens if the knife is used instead of nature being allowed to go on with its own process of desquamation? Why, the deeper parts of the sole become exposed to the action of the air before they are prepared for it by a gradual process of drying, and abruptly dry and contract. This is what causes the sole to become increasedly cupped, and the hoof to become contracted in a great measure. The stopping of horses’ hoofs is not always necessary if the sole is left, as it should be, in an unmutilated condition, unless horses are made to stand a great deal upon dry floors. Much of the fuss and waste of time and material involved in the stopping of horses’ hoofs are based on error. All that is necessary to remove the sole in a normal foot is accomplished when the rasp is flatly applied to the lower surface of the wall in reducing it to its proper dimensions. The thicker the sole the better, provided it does not project below the wall, or receive too much pressure from the shoe. One can readily understand how much more efficient a thick sole is as a protection to the underlying quick, especially on rough, frozen and stony roads, than a comparatively thin one.

Now, if the sole is left thick, as it should be, and in which case the white line would necessarily be, it is a good guide for the shoer, in the majority of cases, to rasp down to the white line. Another error frequently made, though not so common as mutilation of the sole, is cutting away the frog. It does not require a deep student of physiology of the foot to see almost at a glance the function of the frog. Take a normal hoof and examine the frog and you will observe that it is placed at the back of the hoof, where the major portion of the pressure comes. You further find that, unlike either the sole or the wall, it is endowed with elasticity equal to india rubber. It is very evident that it is intended not only to come in contact with the ground, but also to act as a buffer in lessening concussion. Now, what happens if you cut it away and leave the heel so high that it does not come in contact with the ground? Why, it shrinks and becomes as hard as wood, entirely unsuited to stand pressure without bruising the underlying quick, and no longer capable of performing its office of breaking concussion. Not only that, but with a thin, dried-up sole, the shrunken hoof draws the quarters with it, and you have contracted feet or at least contracted heels. After this mischief has been done through ignorance, then the horse must have that curer of all ills of the foot (according to some wise ones), spreaders, to overcome the contraction of the hoof.

Although horses are largely kept under artificial conditions, there is no reason why their hoofs should become contracted if rationally treated, unless some disease of the foot develops, such as navicular disease. Under such circumstances, the contraction is the result of disease, not the cause of it.

Another point that should be carefully watched in preparing the hoof for the reception of the shoe is to have it level. If either inside or outside of the hoof is left too long, it changes the direction of the line of weight and subjects some portion or portions of the extremity to undue strain or pressure and consequent liability to injury.

Horses that are turned out into soft fields or put into box stalls or barnyards, where there is not sufficient attrition to wear the hoof to its normal dimensions, should have it rasped down every month to its proper proportions. This particularly applies to young colts, and neglect of it is the initial step in causing hoofs of defective formation.