192 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



crust, diminishes the pain occasioned by the want of 

 room for the expansion of the blood-vessels consequent 

 on inflammation. The symptoms will be marked by 

 the horse standing with his hind legs in a much more 

 forward position than usual, for the purpose of relieving 

 his fore feet of their proper proportion of weight. If 

 the foot be felt it will be discovered to have an unusual 

 degree of heat, and if pressed or squeezed by a pair of 

 pincers an unusual flinching will be perceptible. On 

 running him out, the weight will be thrown principally 

 on the heels — a marked contrast to the symptoms of 

 navicular disease, in which the toes are almost the only 

 parts of the feet placed on the ground when the horse 

 trots. Bleeding is certainly not advisable where the 

 inflammation is not very acute ; since it weakens the 

 foot so much that it will be unfit for hard work for 

 many weeks afterwards. 



The food should consist of bran mashes and a 

 little hay ; and, although a violent purge should be 

 avoided when the inflammation runs very high, laxa- 

 tives should be freely administered ; the best dose being- 

 two drachms of emetic tartar and half an ounce of nitre, 

 given every day for a week. In severe and long-con- 

 tinued cases of this disease, the coffin bone becomes 

 separated from its attachments and is forced down- 

 wards by being unable to withstand the weight, after 

 being deprived of its proper support, and leads to con- 

 vexity of the sole, which I will consider under the 

 head of — 



