388 DISEASES OF THE FEET. 



imprisoned within the horny foot will cause acute pain, great 

 lameness, violent febrile symptoms, and even death from pain 

 and nervous exhaustion ; or the pus may extend upwards 

 along the lamince, detaching the horny structures from their 

 attachments, finally appearing at the coronet as a soft tumour, 

 which, if pressed upon, will discharge first a sero-sanguineous 

 matter and pus. Sometimes this discharge affords relief, but 

 at others the suppurative action extends round the coronet, 

 breaking out in various sinuses and unhealthy-looking 

 abscesses ; the animal at the same time suffering from a con- 

 tinuation of the pain and febrile symptoms, becomes rapidly 

 emaciated, and from continual lying down covered, with bruises 

 and sores. 



To detect punctured wounds of the feet it is necessary to 

 remove the shoe from the foot affected, then to examine all 

 round the margin of the sole, by pressing it and the crust with 

 the pincers. When the seat of the mischief is pressed upon, the 

 horse will generally evince pain ; but the test is not to be de- 

 pended upon until the sole has been pared out. 



" Pricks in shoeing" usually manifest themselves shortly after 

 the horse has been shod ; but occasionally there may be no 

 signs for three or four weeks, or even longer ; and in some horses, 

 especially if the puncture be at the toe, the suppuration will 

 appear at the coronet as the first symptom of mischief. This 

 fact has led some writers to suppose that, because the burrowing 

 of the pus does no mischief in these exceptional cases, it is good 

 practice to allow every case to go on unchecked, until the pus 

 has forced its way upwards and discharged itself at the coronet. 

 I am surprised to find that such an idea has gained ground 

 latterly, especially amongst the young members of the profession. 

 It is full of error, founded on a very limited practical experi- 

 ence, and calculated to entail much suffering on the poor patients, 

 and to destroy many a valuable animal's life. The first step in 

 the treatment of these accidents is to pare down to the bottom of 

 the puncture, to allow the escape of the matter, which, by-the- 

 by, is generally of a dark colour, and to place the foot in a 

 poultice. Many cases, if so treated, are quite free from lame- 

 ness in a day afterwards. A purgative is useful, removing 

 sympathetic fever. 



Paring of the sole and removal of the horn allow the sensi- 



