SUB-ACUTE LAMINITIS. 419 



niinitis is marked by great suffering and accompanying fever; in 

 the sub-acute there is nothing of the kind, the lameness being the 

 leading symptom. 5thly. The termination of sub-acute laminitis 

 is — supposing we do not succeed in bringing about resolution — '■ 

 pretty uniformly in sunk or pumice sole ; the disease rarely, in 

 this subdued or mitigated form, ending in suppuration of the foot, 

 and never in mortification. 



Symptoms. — Rarely does any complaint about this disease reach 

 our ears until the lameness resulting from it is such as to render 

 the further use of the horse either dangerous or impracticable ; by 

 which time, as generally comes out in the subsequent history of 

 the case, it has existed for some days, if not for some weeks. 

 The first observation made concerning its presence is, that the 

 horse does not in his trot step with his accustomed freedom and 

 boldness, and that he flinches now and then in his tread, and 

 stumbles. This is ascribed to shoeing, perhaps ; in fact, to any 

 cause but the true one. For some time his work is still persisted 

 in, notwithstanding he goes so gingerly upon his fore feet — in the 

 groom's phrase, " goes scramhlingly' — until at length he becomes 

 unsafe either to ride or drive. This leads to his being: brought to 

 the veterinary surgeon. Examination into his fumbling gait shews 

 that it is not the short pattering step upon the toe, with the conti- 

 nual break into the canter, of navicularthritic disease ; but, on the 

 contrary, is the elongated projection of the limb, and measured and 

 cautious setting down of the foot upon the heel, of laminitic disease. 

 And this at once discloses the nature of the case. It is sub-acute 

 inflammation of the laminae. And in confirmation of this, there will 

 be, on nice examination of the hoofs, heat to be detected around 

 the wall and upon the coronet ; not to the degree present in acute 

 laminitis, yet sufficient for the purpose of diagnosis. There will 

 also probably at this stage of the disease be present some disposi- 

 tion in the walls of the hoofs, which are observably shelvy or 

 rimmy, to fall in ; and the consequence of such failure in the wall 

 will, to a greater or less extent, be sinking of the sole. These 

 latter symptoms in particular shew the advance the disease has 

 already made ; at the same time that they throw no small dis- 



