HORSE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



53 



toms are of a mitigated character. When 

 quiet, the pain is slight, and the heat is 

 little, if any, in excess of the natural 

 state. If the animal is allowed rest on a 

 soft floor, or is turned to run in a pad- 

 dock, the lameness may be scarcely obvi- 

 ous ; but attempt to drive him, and, either 

 ■while on the road or afterward, he be- 

 comes very lame again. This condition 

 may continue almost indefinitely. Third, 

 the inflammation may terminate in suppu- 

 ration, which may be confined to a small 

 region of the foot, and eventuate in a 

 partial recovery, or it may be general and 

 :so extensive as to destroy the connection 

 of the hoof with the soft tissues. Under 

 the latter circumstances the hoof may be 

 lost. When the destructive suppuration 

 falls short of producing complete separa- 

 tion, it may be sufficient to permit of a 

 change of relation of the coffin-bone to 

 the hoof. A portion of the anterior at- 

 tachments may be destroyed so that the 

 bone may fall away from the horn. In a 

 flat and weak foot this may cause a bulg- 

 ing of the sole, producing what is called 

 the pumice foot. If the hoof is preserv- 

 ed, the space produced by the falling of 

 the coffin-bone is filled by fleshy granula- 

 tions. The foot, however, suffers perma- 

 nently, and lameness is constantly pres- 

 ent. 



Such is the structure of the foot that, 

 even when the damage is less than that 

 just described, the suppuration continues 

 and burrows in various direc ions, seek- 

 ing an outlet. Except when the inflam- 

 mation and suppuration are confined to a 

 limited space in the sole of the foot, the 

 •discharge must escape from the crown. 

 At some part of the coronal border of the 

 .hoof, swelling is perceived, which either 

 •opens of itself or is opened by the knife, 

 which is preferable. When suppuration 

 has commenced, the animal should re- 

 ceive better and more nutritious food, 

 while stimulating injections to the open- 

 ing may be useful. Should the sinuses 

 become chronic, it has been recommended 

 to trace their number and direction with 

 .a delicate probe, and then freely lay them 

 open. To do this, the hoof must be soft- 

 •ened by soaking in warm alkaline water, 

 when it may be cut easily. 



Limited suppuration of the soft tissues 

 *of the foot may occur from a variety of 

 other causes, such as a wound made by 



the shoe of one foot in the coronet of the 

 other, or by the prick of a nail driven into 

 the quick or so near it as to cause inflam- 

 mation by pressure, or by a bruise made 

 by the heel of the coffin-bone, to which 

 the term corn is applied. In all these 

 cases suppuration may follow inflamma- 

 tion, and the severity and extent of the 

 trouble will depend upon the locality of 

 the injury, and the distance the product 

 of suppuration has to travel to reach a 

 point of exit. 



A fourth termination may be designated 

 — that by metastasis. The inflammation 

 being situated in the fibrous tissues of the 

 foot is liable to leave that locality and to 

 seize upon similar tissues elsewhere, and 

 under unfavorable circumstances we may 

 have resulting inflammation of the brain 

 or pleura, or indeed of any of the fibrous 

 tissues. A fifth termination may be in 

 mortification, the result of which would 

 be almost certainly fatal at an early pe- 

 riod. 



Laminitis may be sub-acute from its 

 commencement. It is apt to take this 

 form in old horses that have been sub- 

 jected for a long time to hard work. Its 

 approach is gradual, pain at first small, 

 and lameness slight and not constant. 

 The foot should be given the same treat- 

 ment as in the more acute form. The 

 warm bath should be used freely. Bleed- 

 ing would probably be injurious, and any 

 debilitating medicines must be withheld. 

 The bowels may be loosened by fresh veg- 

 etable food, such as potatoes or carrots, 

 and if pain is present one or two draughts 

 in the day containing an ounce of sul- 

 phuric ether and a drachm of laudanum 

 may be given. Plenty of good, nutritious 

 food should be given. The horse should 

 not be used on the road until all the 

 symptoms have been absent for several 

 days. He may be gently exercised on a 

 soft sward as soon as the inflammation is 

 subdued. 



A permanent, incurable lameness often 

 results from the continued use of a horse 

 suffering from some degree of inflamma- 

 tion of the soft tissues of the foot. When- 

 ever this condition is detected, the animal 

 should be given rest, and subjected to 

 treatment with a view to the cure of the 

 disease. 

 HORSE, Fever of the Feet, (See Horse, 



Laminitis.) 



