“The most important primary procedure is the preparation of the foot to receive the shoe.  All excess of growth must be removed from the anterior face of the hoof.  The outer face must be reduced at the toe (not shortened), but rasped down thin for the lighter the top of the foot is, the more chance the sole and coffin bone will have of resuming their former normal position.  The pressure of the wall at the toe upon the exudate between wall and coffin bone, tends to force the coffin bone and sole out of their normal position.  Leave the sole alone.  You can lower the excess of growth at the heels.

“There are many designs of shoes to relieve this condition.  A great deal depends on the judgment of the shoer to meet the conditions presented, depending on the degree of the convexity and strength of the sole.  In some cases we use a shoe that admits of a large amount of sole room.  Again, we shoe with a shoe of wide cover.  In other cases a shoe with even pressure over the whole sole.  In some cases a high, narrow shoe, resting only on the wall, or the ordinary plain shoe with side calks welded close to the outside edge and the shoe dished well from these as a foundation.  Then we have the air cushion pad designed after the model of the bowl shoe.”

In cases when slight and persistent lameness interferes sufficiently to prevent using an animal at any sort of work on hard roads, median neurectomy will relieve all lameness in most instances.  This is a safe operation, moreover, in that no bad after effects are to be feared, even though lameness were to continue.

Calk Wounds. (Paronychia.)

Etiology and Occurrence.—­Injuries of various kinds are inflicted upon the coronary region but usually they are due to the foot being trampled upon.  When the foot that inflicts the injury happens to be unshod, a contusion of the injured member is occasioned, but in the majority of instances, wounds that demand attention are the result of shoe calks which have penetrated the tissues in the region of the coronary band.  Often calk wounds are self-inflicted.  When animals are excited and in turning crowd one another, they often perform dancing movements which frequently result in deep calk wounds of the coronet.  Some horses have a habit of resting the heel of one hind foot upon the anterior coronary region of the other.  While sleeping in this position, if they are suddenly awakened, the weight is abruptly shifted to the uppermost foot and the one underneath is (because of the pain attending its being wounded) quickly drawn out from under its fellow.  In this way deep cuts may divide the coronary band and inflict extensive injury to the sensitive lamina as well.

An infectious type of coronary inflammation occurs in some localities during the winter months, wherein the condition is enzootic.