have not tried it, but it is not so.
The horse may flinch a little at first, from his unaccustomed condition,
and from the active life that will begin to stir in his dry, hard, and
numb foot, but he will enjoy the change. The healing of the crack will
be from the coronet down, and it is good practice to cut with a sharp
knife just above the split, and to clean all dirt and dead substance out
from the point where you cut, downwards. Soaking the feet in water will
facilitate a cure by quickening the growth of the hoof; or, a
stimulating liniment may be applied to the coronet, to excite more
active growth. Bear in mind that expansion is not from the sole upwards,
but from the coronet downwards.

TOE CRACKS.

The cause of this defect is the same as in quarter crack. It appears in
both fore and hind feet. Clean the crack well, cutting with a sharp
knife the dead horn from each side of it; shoe as advised for quarter
crack, or for the purpose of getting expansion and natural action of the
dead, shelly hoof. The dirt and sand may be kept out of the crack by
filling it with balsam of fir, or pine pitch. Keep the horse at regular
work.

[Illustration: QUARTER CRACK--HALF SHOE.]

CHAPTER VI.

DROP SOLE AND PUMICED FOOT.

This miserable condition of the abused animal is Nature's fiercest
protest against the ignorance and carelessness of man. A horse set upon
heavy shoes, and those armed with calks at toe and heel, such as are
usually inflicted upon large draft-horses, has his whole weight placed
upon the unsupported sole. The frog never comes in contact with the
earth in any way, inflammation of the sensitive frog and sole takes
place, and the arch of the sole bends down under the pressure until the
ground surface of the hoof becomes flat or convex, bulging down even
lower than the cruel iron that clamps its edge. This is the condition of
a drop sole. This degenerate state of the foot has other complications.
Active inflammation is often present and all the wretchedness of a
pumiced foot--the despair of owner and veterinary--is experienced. The
smith, whose clumsy contrivance has been the cause of all the woe, has
abundant reasons to offer for the disease, and his unfailing resort of
the "_Bar Shoe_." This atrocious fetter is supplemented with leather
pads, sometimes daubed with tar, and the horse hobbles to his task. Not
unfrequently the crust at the front of the hoof sinks in, adhering to
the sole; circul