DISEASES OK THE FETLOCK, ANKI.E. AM> FOOT. 435 



oakum balls, and a roller baiula<2:i'. After a few days the wouml will 

 be covered with a new. white horn, and only the oakum and i)andafi;es 

 will be needed. As the new (juaiter jijiows out, the lameness dis- 

 uppeai's, and the patient may be shod with a l»ai" shoe and returned to 

 work. 



In all cases of s;ind crack the •growth of horn should l>e stimulated 

 by cauterizinjj^ the coronary banil or by the use of blisters. In simple 

 (juarter crack recovery will often take place if the coronet is blistered, 

 the foot shod with a ''tip,'' and the patient turned to pasture. 



The shoe in t(x> crack should have a clip on each side of the fissure 

 and should be thicker at the toe than at the heels. The foot should be 

 lowered at the heels by paring, and spared at the toe, except directly 

 under the fissure, where it is to l)e ]iared away until it sets free from 

 the shoe. 



When any of the complications referred to above arise, special 

 measures must be resorted to. For the proper treatment of gangrene 

 of the lateral cartilage and extensor tendon and caries of the coHin 

 bone reference nuiy be had to the ai'ticles on quittors. If the horny 

 tumor, known as keraphylhx^ele, should develop, it is to be removed 

 by the use of the knife. Since this tumor develops on the inside of 

 the horny box and may involve other important organs of the foot in 

 disease, its removal should only be undertaken by a skillful surgeon. 



NAVICULAR DLSEASE. 



Xavicular disease is an inflammation of the sesamoid sheath, in- 

 duced by repeated bruising or laceration, and complicated in many 

 ca.ses by inflammation and caries of the navicular bone. In some 

 instances the disease undoubtedly begins in the bone, and the ses- 

 amoid sheath becomes involved subse<iuently by an extension of the 

 inflamnuitory process. (Plate XXXI\', lig. .").) 



The Thoroughbred horse is more commonly affected than any other. 

 yet no class or breed of horses is entirely exempt. The mule, how- 

 ever, .seems rarely, if ever, to sull'er from it. For reasons which will 

 appear when considering the causes of the disease, the hind feet are 

 not liable to be affected. Usually but one fore foot suffers from the 

 di.sea.se, but if both should be attacked the trouble has become chronic 

 in the first In'fore the second shows signs of the disease. 



CauMt'H. — To compiehend fully how navicular disease umy be cau.sed 

 by conditions and usjiges common to nearly all animals, it is neces- 

 sary to i-ecall the pecidiar anatomy of the parts involved in the process 

 and the functions which they perform in locomotion. 



It nmst be rememU'rod that the fore legs largely support the weight 

 of the body when the animal is at rest, and that the faster he moves 



