OK FARRIERY. 



247 



clever veterinarians, invented a variety of 

 meclianioal contrivances to remove contrac- 

 tion of the foot, but few of tliem are attended 

 with permanent success, though in some in- 

 stances they afforded temporary relief; but 

 as soon as such plans were removed, the foot 

 would contract much faster than before. 



However, all these absurdities are now- 

 done away with, and a more simple and 

 effectual one put in practice ; and that is, by 

 applying moisture, and having more regard to 

 shoeing. In extreme cases the operation of 

 neurotomy must be performed. In cases of 

 contraction, take blood from the plate-veins; 

 «ay two quarts from each. Give alterative 

 medicines every other day. (^See medicines.) 

 Apply swabs, or woollen cloth, round the 

 hoofs, as directed in the last article, to be al- 

 ways kept wet with cold water. Now you 

 call in the farrier. Direct him to pare out 

 the sole, so much as it may yield to the pres- 

 sure of the thumb. Be careful he does not 

 remove the bars, or any part of them. The 

 frog likewise must not be cut away, except 

 those ragged parts that may be injurious. 

 Now let him take the rasp, and rasp down 

 the heels until they are as low as the crown 

 of the frog, if they will admit of it ; if not, as 

 close as you possibly can. This being done, 

 place on an old thin shoe, with but one nail in 

 the inside, so that it does not press on the 

 inner quarter. Remove all bedding, except- 

 ing a little eveiy other night, as the more he 

 stands, the quicker will be the expansion. 

 Give him cooling diet, such as half bran and 

 oats, made tolerably wet ; carrots, or clover, 

 grass, &c., &c. Continue this treatment for a 

 week, and watch the progress of it, and if the 

 Horse should not be particularly lame, let him 

 be exercised two hours, Boning and night. 



At the Royal Veterinary College, (here ;3 

 an ingenious contrivance to apply moisture to 

 the feet. The floor is taken up where the 

 Horse's fore-legs would come, and the earth 

 removed, the paving is then replaced, and ce- 

 mented, so as to be water-tight. The Horse 

 then is led into this standing, where he re- 

 mains a considerable time, up to his knees in 

 water. This is one of the ingenious Profes- 

 sor's contrivances to apply continual moisture, 

 adding pressure at the same time ; for the 

 moisture must be accompanied with pressure, 

 or the end will not be answered. It is for 

 that purpose I have ordered four hours' exer- 

 cise per day in this disease. Many persons 

 are fond of scoring the hoof at the quarter, 

 with a fine drawing knife, so that it may have 

 an hinge-like actiori ,• but this is of no service, 

 without the apj^ation of moisture ; the mo- 

 ment you remove which, the scorings become 

 so dry, that they make the matter worse than 

 it was. 



We now come to the last resource, all 

 others failing, which is the excising a portion 

 of the pastern nerve, and termed neurotomy. 

 This is the only remedy in extreme cases, 

 which are then termed the navicular disease. 

 For the mode of operating, I will describe 

 when we are on the subject of operations. 



GROGGY FEET. 



Groo-'>-v feet, used to be bv stable-men and 

 grooms, and for a length of time was con- 

 sidered to be an inflammation of the lamina' ; 

 but since the anatomy of the Horse's foot has 

 become known, it has been discovered to be 

 an inflammatory action going on in the articu- 

 lating cartilages and their membranes ; also 

 \\ith the ligaments connecting the large and 

 small pastern bones together, which have 



