492 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



of the fetlock and back tendons is also frequently seen and is liable 

 to mislead us. The foot must be carefully examined, and this can 

 not be properly done without removing the shoe. The nails should 

 be drawn separately and carefully examined. If there is no escape 

 of pus from the nail holes, or if the nails themselves are not moist, 

 we must continue our examination of the foot by carefully pinching 

 or tapping it at all parts. With a little practice we can detect the 

 spot where pain is the greatest or discover the delicate line or scar 

 left at the point of entrance of the foreign body. The entire sole is 

 then to be thinned, after which we are carefully to cut down upon 

 the point where pain is greatest upon pressure, and, finally, through 

 the sole at this spot. When the matter has escaped, the sole, so far 

 as it was undermined by pus, is to to be removed. The foot must now 

 be poulticed for one or two days and afterwards dressed with a com- 

 press of oakum saturated with carbolic-acid solution or other anti- 

 septic dressing. 



If we discover a nail or other object in the foot, the principal direc- 

 tion, after having removed the offending body, is to cut away the 

 sole, in a funnel shape, down to the sensitive parts beneath. This is 

 imperative, and if a good free opening has been made and is main- 

 tained for a few days, and hot fomentations and antiseptic dressings 

 applied, the cure is mostly easy, simple, quick, and permanent. The 

 horse should be shod with a leather sole under the shoe, first of all 

 applying tar and oakum to prevent any dirt from entering the wound. 

 In some instances nails may puncture the flexor tendons, the coffin 

 bone, or enter the coffin joint. Such injuries are always serious, their 

 recovery slow and tedious, and the treatment so varied and difficult 

 that the services of a veterinarian will be necessary. 



PUNCTURED WOUNDS OF JOINTS, OR OPEN JOINTS. 



These wounds are more or less frequent. They are alwaj^^s serious, 

 and often result in anchylosis (stiffening) of the joint or the death of 

 the animal. The joints mostly punctured are the hock, fetlock, or 

 knee, though other joints may, of course, suffer this injur}^ As the 

 symptoms and treatment are much the same for all, only the accident 

 as it occurs in the hock joint will be described. Probably the most 

 common mode of injury is from the stab of a fork, but it may result 

 from the kick of another horse that is newly shod, or in many other 

 ways. At first the horse evinces but slight pain or lameness. The 

 owner discovers a small wound scarcely larger than a pea, and pays 

 but little attention to it. In a few dnjs, however, the pain and lame- 

 ness become excessive; the horse can no longer bear any weight 

 upon the injured leg; the joint is very much swollen and painful 

 upon pressure ; there are well-marked symptoms of constitutional 

 disturbance — quick pulse, liurried breathing, high temperature, 103° 



