DISEASES OF HORSES 189 



a week, after which a weak solution of the same may be occasionally 

 injected. Injections of corrosive sublimate, strong carbolic acid, or 

 possibly oil of turpentine will also prove beneficial. Pressure should 

 be applied from below, and endeavors made to heal the various pipes 

 from the bottom. 



Should the swelling become general, without forming a well- 

 defined tumor, the placing of 20 to 30 grains of arsenious acid 

 wrapped in a single layer of tissue paper, in a shallow incision be- 

 neath the skin will often produce a sloughing of the affected parte 

 in a week or ten days, after which the formation of healthy tissue fol- 

 lows. The surrounding parts of the skin should be protected from 

 any damage from escaping caustics by the application of lard or oil, 

 as previously suggested. 



Although the successful treatment of fistulas requires time and 

 patience, the majority of the cases are curable. The sinuses must be 

 opened at their lowest extremity and kept open. Caustic applications 

 must be thoroughly used once or twice, after which mild astringent 

 antiseptic washes should be persistently used until a cure is reached. 

 It sometimes happens that the erosions have burrowed so deeply or 

 in such a direction that the opening of, a drainage passage becomes 

 impracticable. In other cases the bones may become attacked in some 

 inaccessible location, or the joints may be affected, and in these cases 

 it is often best to destroy the horse at once. 



The reappearance of the fistula after it has apparently healed is 

 not uncommon. The secondary attack in these cases is seldom seri- 

 ous. The lesion should be carefully cleansed and afterwards injected 

 with a solution of zinc sulphate, 20 grains to the ounce of water, 

 every second or third day until a cure is effected. 



In fistula of the foot we see the same tendency toward the bur- 

 rowing of pus downward to lower structures, or in some cases up- 

 ward toward the coronet. Prior to the development of a quittor there 

 is always swelling at the coronet, accompanied by heat and pain. 

 Every effort should now be made to prevent the formation of an 

 abscess at the point of injury. Wounds caused by nails, gravel, or 

 any other foreign body which may have become lodged in the sole of 

 the foot should be opened at once from below so as to allow free exit 

 to all purulent discharges. Should the injury have occurred directly 

 to the coronet the application of cold fomentations may prove efficient 

 in preventing the formation of an abscess. 



When a quittor becomes fully established it should be treated 

 precisely as a fistula situated in any other part of the body ; that is, 

 the sinuses should all be opened from their lowest extremities so as 

 to afford constant drainage. All fragments of diseased tissue should 

 be trimmed away, antiseptic solutions injected, and, after covering 

 the wound with a pad of oakum saturated with some good antiseptic 

 wash, the whole foot may be carefully covered with clean bandages, 

 which will afford valuable assistance to the healing process by ex- 

 cluding all dirt from the affected part. (Spl. Rpt. Horse, Dept. Agr. 

 1911 ; La. E. S. B. 15.) 



