322 QUITTOR. 



rienced person. The pressure of the matter wherever it has gone 

 has formed ulcerations that are indisposed to heal, and that re- 

 quire the application of strong and painful stimulants to induce 

 them to heal ; and, worse than this, the horn, once separated Irom 

 the sensible parts beneath, will never again unite with them, 

 duittor may occur in both the fore and the hind feet. 



It may be necessary to remove much of the horny sole, which 

 will be speedily reproduced when the fleshy surface beneath can 

 be brought to a healthy condition ; but if much of the horn at 

 the quarters must be taken away, five or six months may proba- 

 bly elapse before it will be sufficiently grown down agani to ren- 

 der the horse useful. 



Measures of considerable severity are indispensable. The ap- 

 plication of some caustic will alone produce a healthy action on 

 the ulcerated surfaces ; but on the ground of interest and of hu- 

 manity, we protest against that brutal practice, or at least the 

 extent to which it is carried, and is pursued by many ignorant 

 smiths, of coring out, or deeply destroying the healthy as well as 

 the diseased parts — and parts which no process will again restore. 

 When any portion of the bone can be felt by the probe, the 

 chances of success are diminished, and the owner and the opera- 

 tor should pause. When the joints are exposed, the case is hope- 

 less, although, in a great many instances, the bones and the joints 

 are exposed by the remedy and not by the disease. One hint 

 may not be necessary to the practitioner, but it may guide the 

 determination and hopes of the owner ; if, when a probe is intro 

 duced into the fistulous on the coronet, the direction of the sinu- 

 ses or 'pii:)es is backward, there is much probability that a perfect 

 cure may be effected ; but if the direction of the sinuses is for- 

 ward, the cure is at best doubtful. In the first instance, there is 

 neither bone nor joint to be injured ; in the other, the more im- 

 portant parts of the foot are in danger, and the principal action 

 and concussion are found. 



Neglected bruises of the sole sometimes lay the foundation for 

 quittor. When the foot is flat, it is very liable to be bruised if 

 the horse is ridden fast over a rough and stony road ; or, a small 

 stone, insinuating itself between the shoe and the sole, or con- 

 hned by the curvature of the shoe, will frequently lame the horse. 

 The heat and tenderness of the part, the occasional redness of the 

 horn, and the absence of puncture, will clearly mark the bruise. 

 The sole must then be thinned, and particularly over the bruised 

 part, and, in neglected cases, it must be pared even to the quick, 

 in order to ascertain whether the inflammation has run on to 

 suppuration. Bleeding at the toe will be clearly indicated ; and 

 poultices, and such other means as have either been described 

 under " Inflammation of the Feet," or will be pointed out undej 



