iversally conceded that shoeing, either as a direct or
predisposing cause, is most prolific in producing corns. One of the most
serious as well as the most common of the errors in shoeing is to be
found in the preparation of the foot. Instead of seeking to maintain the
integrity of the arch, the first thing done is to weaken it by freely
paring away the sole; nor does the mutilation end here, for the frog,
which is nature's main support to the branches of the sole and the
heels, is also largely cut away. This not only permits of an excessive
downward movement of the contents of the horny box, but it at the same
time removes the one great means by which concussion of the foot is
destroyed. As adjuncts to the foregoing errors must be added the faults
of construction in the shoe and in the way it is adjusted to the foot.
An excess of concavity in the shoe, extending it too far back on the
heels, high calks, thin heels which permit the shoe to spring, short
heels with a calk set under the foot, and a shoe too light for the
animal wearing it or for the work required of him, are all to be avoided
as causes of corns. A shoe so set so as to press upon the sole or one
that has been on so long that the hoof has overgrown it until the heels
rest upon the sole and bars becomes a direct cause of corns. Indirectly
the shoe becomes the cause of corns when small stones, hard, dry earth,
or other objects collect between the sole and shoe. Lastly, a rapid gait
and excessive knee action, especially on hard roads, predispose to this
disease of the feet.

_Symptoms._--Ordinarily a corn induces sufficient pain to cause
lameness. It may be intense, as seen in suppurative corn, or it may be
but a slight soreness, such as that which accompanies dry corn. It is by
no means unusual in chronic corns to see old horses apparently so
accustomed to the slight pain which they suffer as not to limp at all.
But they are generally very restless. They paw their bedding behind them
at night and often refuse to lie down for a long rest. The lameness of
this disease, however, can hardly be said to be characteristic, for the
reason that it varies so greatly in intensity; but the position of the
leg while the patient is at rest is generally the same in all cases. The
foot is so advanced that it is relieved of all weight, and the fetlock
is flexed until all pressure by the contents of the hoof is removed
from the heels. In suppurative corn the lameness subsides o