SHOEING OF HORSES

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 138, 13 June 1931, Page 21

SHOEING OF HORSES

HOW HARM CAN BE DONE

AN INTERESTING OPINION

How many owners of racehorses', hunting people, or polo players take the trouble to go and see their horsed shod? And how many realise that a horse will eventually go lame if its feet are not even all the way round? If they are even, then'the coronet cushions fulfil their purpose, and are springy and soft when felt. More cases of lameness arise. from bad shoeing, uneven feet, and heavy shoes thau from any other cause, although the lameness may bo diagnosed as arising from another part^-as from the tendons, the shoulder, or the fetlocks. There is, for example (says a writer in the London "Field"), considerable harm done in washing out a horsed feet, as in done in many stables. If there is wet mud in the. feet, let it remain till it 1 cakes and becomes hard, when it will drop out of its own accord. But a wet foot that is not thoroughly dried will become an absorbent, and so pulpy and soft. Nor should the outside of the hoof be oiled, 'even though it "finishes off" a horde and gives it a nice appearance. The oil clogs the thousands of minute pipes and-, ducts that run from the top of- the coronet to the sensitive centre of the hoof itself. Then the hoof walls become brittle, and either 'break or become worn oa one side. Shoe wilt- a heavy piece of iron, and the result is lameness, which, may ho attributed to quite another cause. HARDENING THE HOOF. Perhaps one of the very firrffc things that should be attended to in care of the feet is getting the hoof hard. _ After that, matters become very uruch easier, for, like Whyte-MelviJle, ■ that great authority Mr. Lynwood Palmer likes to find a hoof "round, open, and well-developed, as blue, and to all appearances as hard as a flint." During his younger days Mr. Palmer spent a good deal of time on Canadian ranches (where very many horses were kept for the American market). There horses are not shod at all, but very rarely suffer from lameness. And why? Because, their feet are always resting on hard

gi-ounH, with their frogs actiug as cushions. If a horse was lame the .ranchman, stood him on hard ground till his hoof was Very nearly as hard as the rock itself, for.no work of any sort, kind, or description will wear out the hoof. The frog, if properly treated, will always save it from concussion.. In Mr. Palmer's opinion, English! horses are shod far too high in the heels, with heavy, unsuitable shoes, their frogs being off the ground, instead of acting as a cushion and support. The result is that all the weight of the horse's body is brought, on-'to the toe, the. coronet t cusl^ ions are strained, and the foot becomes lop-sided. That was the caste of the famous Swynford, whom Mr. Palmer treated, and here is a little piece of racing history from "behind the scenes." Mr. Palmer was staying with the Hon. George Lambtbn, and a few days before the Eclipse Stakes of 1911, Swynford was so lame that he could not do any work at all. It was decided to scratch him, but Mr. Palmer prevailed upon Mr. Lambton tp allow him toitreat the.horse. He did so, and Swynford wad galloping in four. days. This rapid cure was effected by Mr.. Palmer's catting away the walls of the hoofs' of the forefeet tillthey were level, so that the coronet cushions could work and the frog come into play. How Swynford then won the Eclipse Stakes ib a matter of Turf history. And •so is Cantilever's victory in the Cambridgeshire. This horse, owned by. the late Lord Harewood, had bad feet, and some time before the race was very lame. Mr. Palmer treated him on more or less the same lines, although nearly all the frog had vanished. With his feet even, and with no shoes, Cantilever some time, after beat the great Tracery at Newmarket. '■.■... . SOME OTHER EXAMPLES. Another horde that Mr. Palmer treated successfully was Master Robert, , the Grand National victor of 1924. This horse's feet were in a sad condition. He had running tHrush and other ailments, but when these were cured, Mr. Palmer gave him plenty of work in harness. He did regular work on the road every day, and soon became absolutely sound. And it is -not generally known that Rubio, who won the Grand National in 1908, was trained in a bus before his yictory. ' And then Mr. Palmer was asked by Lord Astor to treach Buchan,. who was suffering from sand-crack. His treatment was "plenty of road work and salt water." Buchan's feet soon became hard, and the »alt water dried up the sand crack. In this I can'bear Mr. Palmer out, for when I was training steeplechasers, whenever I had a horse that was wrong in his feet, I sent him down to the seaside, and that horse's work consisted of walking about five hours a day through the waves. The feet soon became better, the legs fined down, and I am quite certain in my own mind that the horses appreciated it. A final question that may be asked is what is the best litter for a horse's feet? Shall it be straw or peat moss? Neither are very good for the feet, but sawdust ceTtainly ist, and; in Mr. Palmer's opinion; it is the best and most healthy. In this I agree with him. My horses were "always bedded on sawdust, and to save it being trampled about, a little straw was placed on the top. A very neat, workmanlike appearance was the result. And the horses did very much better and were much healthier. .