MANUAL FOR ARMY HORSESHOERS. 89 



Acute laminitis. — Place the animal in a well bedded box stall; if 

 in the field, in a soft, grassy, shady spot if possible. If he does not 

 lie down throw him. This affords great relief by resting the feet 

 and reduces the pain and inflammation. After once experiencing 

 the great relief afforded by lying, the aniinal will then usually lie 

 of his own accord. Remove the shoes. Give a laxative of 1 or 2 

 pints raw linseed oil, and give potassium nitrate in 1 to 2 ounce doses 

 three times a day. Apply cold wet packs to the feet and legs as 

 high as the knees and keep them wet. Feed laxative diet. As 

 soon as the pain has diminished moderate exercise is beneficial. 

 This may be gradually increased as the animal improves. If re- 

 covery is not marked after fi^e or six days apply a bar shoe with a 

 wide web. well rolled at the toe and concaved, and then a blister 

 of cantharides around the coronet; repeat the blister if necessary. 

 Use no toe clips. 



Chronic laminitis is permanent laminitis resulting from one or 

 more attacks of the acute form of the disease. In the chronic form 

 there is always inflammation, sometimes more, sometimes less, but 

 never as severe as in the acute form. Lam.initis frequently produces 

 great structtiral changes in the feet, due to loosening of the union 

 between the horny and sensitive laminae, and a rotation backward 

 of the pedal bone due to increased tension on the flexor tendon. 

 These changes consist of dropped sole, increased height of the foot 

 at the quarters and heels, seedy toe, and a chronic type of inflamma- 

 tion as noted above. When such changes result the usefulness of 

 the animal is greatly lessened, but by careful shoeing he is able 

 to do slow work satisfactorily. 



In a case of chronic laminitis, pay special care to the concaving 

 and use a bar shoe rolled both at the toe and at the heel; this is a 

 modified form of the rorl-rr-motion shoe. This shoe produces a 

 uniformly smooth breaking over, without much jar. 



SEEDY TOE. 



87. Seedy toe is a mealy condition of the horn of the wall, most 

 commonly in the region of the toe. 



Causes. — Most commonly the result of. generalized laminitis 

 with structural changes in the feet; localized laminitis caused by 

 nail pricks in shoeing and stepping on sharp objects; injuries to 

 the wall from blows; pressure from heavy, deep-seated clips; deep 

 hoof branding with irons insufficiently heated; excessii-e moisttire, 

 causing disintegration (crtimbling) of the horn fibers. 



