52 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



ness. Fortunately, in practice this is 

 much less frequent than, theoretically, 

 we might expect it to be. Any horse 

 that has been driven for several hours 

 upon a hard, or stony, or hot and sandy 

 road, would seem to be fairly fitted for 

 some degree of congestion of the soft tis- 

 sues of the feet. At the close of such 

 exertion he is stabled, perhaps upon a 

 damp floor, or where a draft of air may 

 blow upon him. No thought is given to 

 the condition of his feet. He is fed, and 

 perhaps he may have been moderately 

 groomed; but of the entire animal no 

 part has undergone so much exposure or 

 hardship as the feet, and no part really 

 needs so much attention. 



La?ninitis, or, as it has been called by 

 writers, fever of the feet, or "founder" 

 may exist in all degrees, from the simple 

 congestion of the part to the most severe 

 and disorganizing inflammation. It is 

 mainly exhibited in the fore feet, being 

 an uncommon disease in the hind feet. 

 This is mainly due to the different kinds 

 and degrees of force used in the action 

 of the fore and hind legs and feet. In 

 movement a much greater amount of 

 weight comes upon the fore legs and 

 feet, the direction of the blow upon the 

 ground is different, and the consequent 

 strain and pressure upon the soft tissues 

 much greater. 



If acute laminitis is present in one or 

 both fore feet, it is manifested by the 

 very obvious efforts of the animal to re- 

 lieve itself from pressure. If one foot 

 only is suffering, this is put forward and 

 is so rested upon the heel that not only 

 is pressure taken off, but the parts are re- 

 laxed to a still greater extent by the 

 weight of the limb. At the same time, 

 the foot is kept in continual motion, 

 indicating extreme pain. There is heat 

 in the hoof, and especially in the coronary 

 band around its summit. There may also 

 be tenderness in this tissue on pressure. 

 If both fore-feet are affected, the animal 

 endeavors as far as possible, by settling 

 back over the hind feet, to take cff the 

 pressure from them. This attempt may 

 also be shown by the continuous change 

 from one foot to the other. In severe 

 forms of the acute disease the entire sys- 

 tem will sympathize with the local disease. 

 The arteries supplying the part or parts 

 will be found throbbing; the general ar- 



terial circulation will be quickened; the 

 pulse will become considerably acceler- 

 ated, and the constitutional condition will 

 be one of symptomatic fever. 



The disease if unchecked may go on 

 to the destruction of the soft tissues of 

 the foot. Cases are on record in which 

 the entire hoof has been shed by the sep- 

 aration of the soft from the horny foot. 

 This is a rare termination, but the forma- 

 tion of an abscess and partial separation 

 is not so uncommon. Before this result 

 occurs, however, the disease has usually 

 passed into the chronic form. Prompt 

 resort to appropriate treatment may result 

 in restoration to health. 



By no means advocating indiscriminate 

 blood-letting, we would in this case re- 

 commend the free local abstraction of 

 blood, either from the toe of the afflicted 

 foot, or from the plantar vein. If the 

 case is a very severe one, a branch of the 

 plantar artery of one side may be divided. 

 The foot should be placed in a large 

 bucket of warm water, and allowed to 

 bleed in it. Care should be taken to keep 

 up the temperature by frequent additions 

 of* hot water. When the foot is removed, 

 it may be placed in a large poultice, hav- 

 ing previously been drenched about the 

 coronary border with a liniment composed 

 of two ounces each of the tincture of 

 aconite root, belladonna, and opium, with 

 six ounces of soap liniment. 



For the constitutional disturbance, the 

 tincture of aconite root, fifteen to twenty 

 drops in water, may be administered 

 every hour or half hour until a decided 

 impression is made upon the frequency 

 and hardness of the pulse. Half a 

 drachm of belladonna with fifteen grains 

 of digitalis may be given every half hour, 

 or in emergency the following draught 

 may/ be given every hour until the proper 

 impression is made on the system : Tinct. 

 aconite root and tinct. belladonna fifteen 

 drops each, and sulph. ether and lauda- 

 num half an ounce each. Later, saline 

 medicines, such as the nitrate of potash, 

 will aid in preventing secondary affec- 

 tions. 



Laminitis may have a variety of termi- 

 nations. First, it may terminate in a com- 

 plete disappearance of all the symptoms, 

 that is, by resolution, and there be a com- 

 plete recovery. Second, it may pass into 

 a chronic condition in which all the symp- 



