DISEASES OF HORSES 175 



once he will be found in a day or two to be very lame in the injured 

 member. If the foreign body remains in the foot, he gradually grows 

 worse from the time of puncture until the cause is discovered and 

 removed. 



Symptoms and Treatment. A practice which, if never deviated 

 from that of picking up each foot, cleaning the sole, and thoroughly 

 examining the foot each and every time the horse comes into the 

 stable will enable us to reduce the serious consequences of punc- 

 tured wounds of the feet to the minimum. If the wound has resulted 

 from pricking, lameness follows soon after shoeing; if from the nails 

 being driven too close, it usually appears from four to five days or a 

 week after receiving the shoe. "We should always inquire as to the 

 time of shoeing, examine the shoe carefully, and see whether it has 

 been partially pulled and the horse stepped back upon some of the 

 nails or the clip. The pain from these wounds is lancinating; the 

 horse is seen to raise and lower the limb or hold it from the ground 

 altogether; often he points the foot, flexes the leg, and knuckles at 

 the fetlock. Swelling of the fetlock and back tendons is also fre- 

 quently seen and is apt 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 them- 

 selves are not moist, we must continue our examination of the foot 

 by carefully pinching or tapping it at all parts. With a little prac- 

 tice 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 to carefully 

 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 be removed. The 

 foot must now be poulticed for one or two days and afterwards dressed 

 with a compress of oakum saturated with carbolic acid solution or 

 other antiseptic dressing. 



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

 direction, 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 

 maintained for a few days, 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 always 

 serious, and often result in stiffening of the joint or death of the 

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

 though other joints may, of course, suffer this injury. As the symp- 



