418 QUITTOR. 



aiul ligaiMents, and into the cofifin-joint. N'ot only so, but two niis- 

 chievous results may have been produced, — the pressure of the matter 

 wherever it has gone has formed ulcerations that are indisposed to heal, 

 and that require the application of strong and painful stimulants to induce 

 them to heal ; and, worse than this, the horn, once separated from the sen- 

 sitive parts beneath, will never again unite with them. Quittor may occur 

 in both the fore and the hind-feet. 



It will be sufficiently plain that the aid of a skilful practitioner is here 

 requisite, and also the full exercise of patience in the proprietor of the 

 horse. It may be necessary to remove much of the horny sole, which will 

 speedily be reproduced when the fleshy surface beneath can be brought to 

 a healthy condition ; but if much of the horn at the quarters must be 

 taken away, five or six months may probably elapse before it will be suf- 

 ficiently grown down again to render the horse tiseful. 



Measures of considerable severity are indispensable. The application 

 of some caustic will alone produce a healthy action on the ulcerated sur- 

 faces ; but on the ground of interest and of humanity we jirotest against 

 the brutal practice, or at least the extent to which it is carried, that is 

 pursued by many ignorant smiths, of coring out, or deeply destroying the 

 healthy as well as the diseased parts — and parts which no process will 

 again restore. The unhealthy surface must be removed ; but the cartilages 

 and ligaments, and even portions of the bone, need not to be sacrificed. 



The experienced veterinary surgeon will alone be able to counsel the 

 proprietor of the horse, when, in cases of confirmed quittor, there is reason- 

 able hope of permanent cure. A knowledge of the anatomy of the foot 

 is necessary to enable him to decide what parts indispensable to the action 

 of the animal may have been irreparably injured or destroyed, or to save 

 these parts from the destructive efifect of torturing caustics. When any 

 portion of the bone can be felt by the probe, the chances of success are 

 diminished, and the owner and the operator should pause. When the 

 joints are exposed, the case is hopeless, although, in a great many instances, 

 the bones and the joints are exposed by the remedy and not by the disease. 

 One hint may not be necessary to the practitioner, but it may guide the 

 determination and hopes of the owner : if, when a probe is introduced 

 into the fistulous orifice on the coronet, the direction of the sinuses orp^jjcs 

 is backward, there is much probability that a cure may be efiected ; but 

 if the direction of the sinuses is forward, the cure is at best doubtful. In 

 the first instance, there is neither bone nor joint to be injured ; in the 

 other, tbe more important parts of the foot are in danger, and those in 

 which the principal action and concussion are found. 



Neglected bruises of the sole sometimes lay the foundation of quittor. 

 When the foot is flat, it is very liable to be bruised if the horse is ridden 

 fast over a rough and stony road ; or, a small stone, insinuating itself be- 

 tween the shoe and the sole, or confined by the curvature of the shoe, will 

 frequently lame the horse. The heat and tenderness of the part, the oc- 

 casional redness of the horn, and the absence of pimcture, "will clearly 

 mark the bruise. The sole must then be thinned, and particularly over 

 the braised part ; and, in neglected cases, it must be pared even to the 

 quick, in order to ascertain whether the inflammation has run on to sup- 

 puration. The principal causes of bruises of the foot are leaving the sole 

 too much exposed by means of a narrow- webbed shoe, or the smith paring 

 out the sole too closely, or the pressure of the shoe on the sole, or the in- 

 troduction of gravel or stones between the sole and the shoe. 



The modes of cure in this disease are various ; by some the mild or 

 stimulating plan, by others the caustic or sloughing one. They are both 

 excellent, and, so far as can well bo the case, satisfactory. 



