598 THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE 



RHEUMATISM 



Although this is a convenient term used to describe obscure lameness, it 

 is very doubtful if genuine rheumatism is ever met with in horses. That is 

 to say, the rheumatic aflfection which in men and carnivorous animals is 

 accompanied with acute fever. The sudden transference of pain and lame- 

 ness from one limb to another is suggestive of rheumatism both in the 

 muscles and joints. 



Treatment. — Local stimulation with soap liniment, white oils or turpentine 

 diluted with seven parts of an}" blund oil. Salines or the salicylate of soda 

 internally in doses of two to four drachms twice daily. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 



DISEASES OP THE FEET 



CORNS — SANDCRACK — FALSE QUARTER— QUITTOn—TIIUUSII— CANKER— LAMINITIS — SEEDY 

 TOE — BRITTLE FEET — VILLITLS — TREAD — PRICKED FOOT— CONTRACTION OF THE FOOT — 

 NAVICULAR DISEASE — ACCIDENTS TO THE LEGS AND FEET. 



CORNS 



These troublesome results of bad shoeing, or subsequent neglect of the 

 feet, make their appearance in the sole of the foot, in the angle formed 

 between the crust and the bar (see Fig. 1 18 (e E,) Chap, xxxviii.). Where the 

 foot is properly prepared for the shoe, and the smith seats the heel of the 

 crust and the bar on a level surface, no corn will make its appearance 

 in a healthy foot ; but if a corn has previously existed, or if the shoe is 

 allowed to press upon the sole at this point, the delicate blood-vessels 

 of the sensible sole are ruptured, and, instead of secreting a sound horn, 

 capable of bearing the slight strain upon it which is required, a fungoid 

 growth is formed, presenting a reddish appearance, and exquisitely sensitive. 

 This morbid substance does not at all resemble the hard corn of the human 

 subject, which is a thickened secretion of cuticle, but it bears some com- 

 parison with the soft corns that form so often between the toes, and give so 

 much trouble in their removal. It is, in fact, a new growth, of a semi- 

 fungoid character, partly made up of granulations and partly of horny 

 matter, the two being closely united. The corn may arise from improper 

 pressure made on this part of the sensible sole, either directly from the 

 shoe, or indirectly by pressing a thin brittle crust inwards upon it. Generally, 



