5IO Veterinary Medicine. 



arthritis, osteitis, auEeinia, cardiac, urinary or hepatic disorder, 

 parasitisms, etc., so that accessory causes must often be widely 

 sousj^ht. Even an excess of straw around the hind Hnibs will 

 cause stocking in some animals which escape on bare pavement. 

 Finally we must take into account that constitutional predisposi- 

 tion in some animals that makes them liable to inveterate skin 

 diseases under the slightest causes. 



Symptoms. In the milder forms there may appear a redness, 

 with lieat, tenderness and swelling in the hollow of the pastern, 

 the hairs stand stiffly erect, and the surface may be perfectly 

 dry. The affected limb has the pastern more upright than the 

 others and the fetlock starts slightly forward. In a nervous, sen- 

 sitive horse the skin is so tender and rigid, that the animal can 

 hardly be persuaded to use the limb, and goes dead lame for 

 a considerable distance until it has become more pliant. 



With some aggravation of the condition the skin is felt to be 

 .somewhat rough and uneven by reason of the encrustations of 

 epidermis, dried secretions and dust over its surface, which may 

 convey to the finger a slightly oily sensation. In many cases 

 these epidermic and exudation products form scabb}^ elevations, 

 and a chronic condition of this kind may persist indefinitely, con- 

 stituting what is known in America as scratches. This will vary 

 by reason of the detachment of these concretions with the forma- 

 tion of abrasions and sores of various sizes, which may heal, or 

 extend by coalescence, chapping, or ulceration. 



In other cases, even at an early stage, the formation of chaps 

 or cracks is a marked feature. At times this may seem to be the 

 result of over distension in the inflamed superficial layers of the 

 skin which have lost their natural pliancy and cohesion. They 

 will, sometimes, form under slight exercise, but not when at rest. 

 They may simply extend through the epidermis, exposing the 

 papillary layer, or in bad cases one or more fissures may extend 

 through the integument and expose the tendons beneath. They 

 may extend forward on the sides of the pastern or upward over 

 the back of the fetlock and metatarsus. 



In all cases, when the local inflammation is acute, some swelling 

 of the limbs appears, and this keeps pace with the character and 

 extent of the trouble. With extensive chaps or fissures it becomes 

 extreme, extending up toward the hocks and attended by great 



