Common Diseases of the Horse 2 i 9 



be well cleansed, any ragged parts removed, and a little tow 

 saturated with a 5-per-cent carbolic solution pushed gently down 

 to the bottom of the cleft, afterwards filling up the latter with dry 

 tow. This may be repeated night and morning for a couple of 

 days, and then a little calomel may be placed at the bottom and 

 about the cleft, and repeated in a day or so, when the cure will 

 usually be complete. To prevent a return, good stable manage- 

 ment and allowing the frog to exercise its proper function is 

 necessary. Neglected thrush leads to under- run sole, and may 

 terminate in canker. 



Lameness 



A good number of the causes of lameness have already been 

 alluded to in past pages, but a few more short notes are necessary. 

 Lameness is a symptom of pain, weakness, inability or impedi- 

 ment in a limb. The detection of the seat and cure of lameness is 

 often most difficult, and even the most experienced are baffled. 



It varies in degree, manifestation, and pain, according to pace 

 and to conditions of the weather. 



Predisposing causes. — These are defects in conformation. The 

 conformation of bones is often responsible, as are those defective 

 in structure, such as soft, small, or round bones, or those wrongly 

 shaped. Small joints also contribute by not taking their fair share 

 of concussion. Other defects are bent knees, knuckled fetlocks, 

 deformed, small, or brittle feet, flat soles, badly-shaped pasterns, 

 deficiency of muscle, slipping, sudden or too often starting and 

 stopping, backing, unsuitable work, long journeys, badly -paved 

 roads, immaturity, bad shoeing, allowing the shoes to remain on 

 too long, heavy shoes, and hereditary disease. 



Actual or exciting causes. — Strains, bruises, wounds, external 

 violence, inflammation (nerves, feet, and lymphatic glands), and 

 thrombosis (a clot of blood in a bloodvessel). 



To detect lameness. — The horse should be seen at rest, and 

 carefully watched when being turned over in the stall or backed 

 out. He should then be walked from and to the observer, and 

 afterwards trotted the same way. It may be also necessary to 

 back or turn him round both ways, or to canter first and trot 

 afterwards. When lameness of the fore limbs is suspected, the 

 horse's head must be watched; it drops or nods with the sound 

 limb. When the lameness is behind, the observer looks at the hips. 

 The hip of the sound limb appears to drop lower than that of the 

 lame leg, and if there is any nodding of the head, it occurs when 

 the lame limb touches the ground. Where there is lameness of 



