^60 ON THE FEET. 



means Improperly diftinguifhed, as the wet and 

 dry founder. By the (training of the mufcles 

 of the loinSj in order to favour- the pained feet, 

 fome farriers have fuppofed the difeafe to be in 

 the loins ; however the fymptoms of founder 

 are too obvious to be miftaken. Gervafe 

 Markham very aptly compared the fenfation 

 of the horfe from the foundered foot, to that 

 pricking and (hooting experienced by the 

 human animal, from obftrucled blood in the 

 foot, when faid to be afleep : but the old far- 

 riers made a dreadful miftake in gartering up 

 the leg in this cafe, which mud nece(rarily in- 

 creafe the obllrudion, and redouble the tor- 

 tures of the affhfted beafl; ; in (liort, the number 

 of fimilar inftances, independently of any other 

 confideration, ought to be an eternal bar to 

 confiding the medical or furgical care of ani- 

 mals to merely mechanical hands. 



In thirty years, I do not recolle6^ to have 

 heard a fmple inftance of a foot-founder cured 



o 



by a farrier, nor have our ^'eterinarians boafted 

 much of their fuccefs : in a chronic cafe, no 

 podible good could be done in the houfe, and 

 it would be madnei's to attempt it, or rather 

 fomething- elfe in him who (hould undertake it 

 for a fee. All that can be done in the (lable 

 is as follows : as foon as convenient after 

 which, turn the horfe off, for fix months at 

 leall, upon fait padurcs in preference, but at 



any 



