LAMPAS. 231 



our present state of knowledge, too little acquainted to 

 pretend to say why the lampas should exist in one horse and 

 not in another, or why it should only at times appear in the 

 same horse. 



Are Lampas Disease ? — The complaints, heavy and 

 grievous, which are daily reaching our ears, are enough to 

 persuade us they are : every groom having an unthriving 

 horse, or one that does not feed, is sure to search for 

 lampas ; and, should he find any, in his mind the cause of 

 failure is detected, and the remedy obvious — ''^ burning 

 them out/^ Many a poor wight of a horse, even while 

 sufiering from some real constitutional malady, has been 

 subjected to this torturing operation, with a view of demon- 

 strating the sagacity of the groom, and thereby has got 

 added to his other ailments, a foul, sloughy, carious sore 

 upon the roof of his mouth. This may be said to be the 

 fruits of 



" Burning for the Lampas." — Supposing that their ex- 

 istence be owing to the teeth, do not the teeth require re- 

 moval, and not the bars of the mouth ? In cutting or 

 burning away the lampas we are mistaking the effect for 

 the cause. If it be contended that lampas do not owe their 

 production to the irritation of teething, then, I should like 

 to be informed what is the origin of them ; and, let what 

 will give rise to them, I do not imagine there is any vete- 

 rinarian hardy enough to contend that the cause resides in 

 the palate, or becomes removed by the actual cautery ! 

 Those who are entering private practice, and find them- 

 selves compelled, at times, to belie their consciences by the 

 performance of unnecessary operations to please their em- 

 ployers, may be told, that burning out lampas is, after all, 

 preferable to lancing or cutting the bars; for, unless the 

 palatine artery be wounded, very little blood is obtained by 

 stabbing the mouth ; and the wounding of this vessel, which 

 will certainly take place should the punctures be made 

 along the sides of the palate, or extend forward beyond the 

 fourth bar from the front teeth, is not always a very safe 

 proceeding. I remember a case of the kind in which it be- 



