Laminitis Laminitis is generally known to the farrier by the term “founder.” Laminitis is an inflammation of the sensitive laminae of the feet, destructive to the tissues affected. The causes of laminitis are many. The most common causes are exhaustion, over-exertion, concussions, rapid changes in temperature, indigestion of various foods, and purgatives. Concussion is the […]
Contraction Contraction is not in itself an original disease. It is, in most cases, the result of other diseases and of artificial living. Before the colt is used for work and shod, his hoofs are large and open-heeled. The quarters are spread out wide, and the foot on the bottom is like a saucer. The […]
Symptoms Corns always make the horse lame. There may be intense soreness, as in suppurative corns, or slight soreness, as in dry corns. Old horses, having chronic corns are so much used to the pain that they limp very little, especially if both feet are affected; still such horses are generally restless and move the […]
Corns A corn is an injury to the living horn of the foot. It is very common in horses’ feet, and a great number of cases of lameness are due to this trouble. Corns always appear in that part of the foot included in the angle between the bar and the wall of the foot […]
Shoeing with Tips Toe tips are mostly a fad. It is only in one case these shoes should be used, and that is in shoeing for contraction; but even then they are of little value, for if the heel, which is thinner, can stand the wear and tear, certainly the toe can. If in such […]
Interfering is a bad fault in a horse, and is mostly found in some horses predisposed thereto from a variety of causes, such as malformation in the feet, the feet being abnormally developed, resulting in pigeon-toe; the planting of the feet outward, or other unnatural positions and movements due to unshapely feet. In other horses […]
How to Fit and Re-Calk Old Shoes It is a fact that re-calking old shoes is a more difficult job than to fit new shoes, because the old shoe has either been worn out on the toe, making a beveled web where the toe-calk is to be welded on, or the root of the old […]
Horse Nails Horse nails are never made by hand now for the market, but there are yet quite a number of blacksmiths in the business who have to make their own nails as well as shoes. The author’s first lesson in blacksmithing was the making of nails. His first penny earned was from horse nails. […]
Fitting Shoes In fitting shoes proceed as follows: First put two shoes in the fire at the same time. When red hot fasten the toe-calk; but before you do this, bend the calk a little to conform with the curve in the shoe. If it is a shoe wide on the toe bend the heels […]
Hot or Cold Fitting In moist climates hot fitting is practiced, because it is only by hot fitting that the shoe in such a climate will stay on. By hot fitting the shoe will get a perfect fit. In a brittle hoof there must also be a good fit, or the shoe will not stay […]