DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, AXKI.K, AND FOOT. 427 



their depth, involvi> the i)lant!ii- cll^hion, the plantar aponeurosis, 

 the sesamoid sheath, the navicular hone, or the eofHii joint. 



Punctured \v«>unds are more liable to be deep in Hat or convex feet 

 than in well-made feet, and as a rule, recovery is neither so rapid nor 

 so certain. These wouiuls are less serious in animals u>ed for heavy 

 draft than in those recpiired to do faster work; for the former may be 

 useful, even if complete recovery is not etfecteil. Lastly, punctured 

 Avounds of the f<»re feet are uioie serious than of the hind feet, for tin- 

 reason that in the former the instrument is liable to enter the foot in 

 a nearly perpendicular line, and, conse(|uently, is more liable to 

 injure the deeper stiMictures of the foot : in the hind foot, the injurv 

 is generally near the heels and the wound oblique and less deep. 



tSi/mpfo/n^. — A nail or other sharp instrument may penetrate the 

 frog and remain for .several days without causing lameness; in fact, 

 in many ca.ses of punctured wound of the frog the first evidence of 

 the injury is the finding of the nail or the appearance of an opening 

 where the skin and frog unite, from which ujore or le.ss pus escapes. 

 Even when the sole is perforated, if the injury is not too deep, no 

 lameness develops until supi)uration is established. In all cases of 

 foot lameness, especially if tlie cause is obscure, the foot should be 

 examined for evidence of injury. 



The lameness from punctured wounds, accompanied with suppu- 

 ration, is irenerally severe, the patient often refusing to use the 

 atfected member at all. The pain being laiu'inating in character, 

 he stands with the injured foot at rest or con.stantly moves it back 

 aiul forth. In other cases the i)atient lies down mo.st of the time 

 with the feet outstretched; the breathing is rapid, the pulse fast, the 

 temperature elevated, and the hotly coveied with patches of sweat. 



When the plantar aponeurosis is injured, the pus escapes with diffi- 

 culty and the wound ^hows no signs of healing; the whole foot is 

 hot and very painful. If the puncture involves the sesamoid .sheath, 

 the synovial fluid escapes. At first this fluid is pure, like joint water, 

 but later beconies mixed with the products of .suppuration and 

 loses its clear, amber color. Suppurati<m generally exten<ls up the 

 course of the Hexor tendon, an abscess forms in the hollow of tlu" 

 heel, and finally opens somewhere below the fetlock joint. The 

 whole coronet is more or less swollen, the discharge is profuse :ind 

 often mi.xed with blood, yet the suffering is gieatly relieved from 

 the moment the abscess opens. 



If the puncture reaches the navicular bone the lamenos is intense 

 fiom the beginning; but the only certain way to deteimine the 

 existence of this complication is by the use of tin- i)robe; and unless 

 there is a free escape of .synovia it must be used with the greatest 

 of care, else the cofhn joint may be oj)ened. 



