DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 497 



Having taken these precautionary measures, it is, in general, safe in 

 cases which are treated immediately after the recurrence of the injury, 

 i. e. before inflammation has set in (but not otherwise), to close the 

 puncture at once by the application of tow and tar placed over the wound, 

 with a view of excluding the air and thereby decreasing the chance of the 

 occurrence of inflammation. The shoe must be nailed on lightly in order 

 to secure the stopping in its place. A dose of physic in most cases is 

 advisable. Perfect rest is essential. In favorable cases the horse will be 

 fit for work in a few days. Very few cases, however, are taken suffi- 

 ciently early to render the closing of the wound advisable. 



As a general rule, inflammation will have set in and the formation of 

 matter begun before the injury is noticed. The evil with which we have 

 then to deal is the confinement of the pus in the interior of the foot. In 

 addition to paring out the sole, recourse must be had to fomentations 

 and poultices of linseed meal and bran, with the view of modifying the 

 inflammation and relieving the pain. 



When these measures are efficiently taken, injuries of the sensitive 

 sole seldom prove either serious or tedious. A portion of the insensitive 

 sole, however, having been freely removed, the horse will not be fit for 

 work until Nature has re-supplied a sufficient quantity of horn for the 

 protection of the foot, or until an artificial covering, such as leather, is 

 provided. When suppuration has ceased, the part should be dressed with 

 tar, covered with a pad of tow, and the application kept in its place by 

 means of a leather sole retained by crossed pieces of thin hoop iron 

 slipped under the edge of the shoe. This can easily be removed and the 

 foot re-dressed as required. 



For treatment of neglected cases, see " Quittor," par. 1011. 



1008. Punctures of the Frog. 



Punctures of the Frog are similar in nature and require similar treat- 

 ment to those of the sole. They nearly always arise from picking up a 

 nail. When taken in time, they are riot serious and yield to treatment 

 even more readily than injuries of the sole, inasmuch as the insensitive 

 frog is more permeable than the insensitive sole. 



If neglected, however, they are apt to lead to extensive disease of the 

 frog, and canker may be the probable result (see " Canker," par. 1019). 

 In some cases the inflammation caused by the puncture may involve the 

 neighbouring navicular joint, and serious and tedious disease may ensue. 

 In still rarer cases a nail may even penetrate the joint. (See par. 727, 

 " Wounds of the navicular joint,") 



1009. Corns. 



The seat of corn is in the angle between the crust and the bars (see 

 Plate 49, fig. 6 D), usually on the inside heel, because greater weight and 

 therefore greater pressure falls on the inside than on the- outside. In 

 horses, however, which turn their toes in, and thereby throw the greater 

 weight on the other side, corns will not unfrequently be found on the 

 outer heel. 



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