Common Diseases of the Horse 185 



contracted, and eventually the animal is so lame that it can only 

 perform slow work on soft ground, and even at this it will not 

 last long. 



Treatment. — If on account of the construction of the feet the 

 owner considers there may be danger of the horse becoming affected, 

 every precaution should be taken to prevent it. The frog should 

 be allowed to exercise its proper function and bear its due pro- 

 portion of weight, heavy shoes should be avoided, and thin plates 

 worn. Charlier shoes, if the condition of the horn will allow, are 

 excellent. 



If the disease is suspected in its early stages and taken in time, 

 there is hope that with proper treatment the animal may be fully 

 restored to soundness. I have already mentioned that it originates 

 as an inflammation of bone, tendon, or oil sheath. The first steps 

 must be to subdue this as speedily as possible. For this purpose 

 the shoes must be taken off and the horse put to stand upon a 

 sloppy, wet bed of clay, where his frogs will touch the ground 

 without causing him much pain. He should not be allowed to 

 lie down in the daytime, but at night changed on to another good 

 bed made up of broken peat moss, mixed with sawdust and fine 

 shavings, which will keep it nice and open and not too solid. 

 Usually he avails himself of every opportunity to lie down. 



If the case progresses satisfactorily, and the lameness disap- 

 pears, iron tips or three-quarter shoes with a tapering end may 

 be put on, the coronets well blistered, and at the end of a month 

 or six weeks the animal will be ready for light work. 



If the treatment is unsuccessful, however, light work may be 

 performed by appropriate shoeing, and as by this time it will be 

 useless to try to bring the frog into play, a thick-heeled shoe must 

 be worn which will relieve the tension upon the diseased tendon. 

 A good method at the same time is to remove a piece of the toe, 

 and use a bent toe to the shoe in such a way that the horse practi- 

 cally rocks on its toe. In all cases the latter must be kept short, 

 and the soles fairly thin, to relieve pressure. Leathers with tar 

 dressing are also beneficial. 



The old treatment used to be that of setoning the frog, i.e. pass- 

 ing the needle in at the hollow of the heel and bringing it out on 

 the sole at the point of the frog, and dressing the tape with turpen- 

 tine or other blister; but this practice has been discontinued. In 

 advanced navicular disease the only method of removing the lame- 

 ness is by neurectomy, an operation which must be performed by 

 a veterinary surgeon. It necessitates the cutting and removal of a 

 portion of the nerve which runs down the limb on each side 



