i>FL.vMMATiox.] MODERN VETERIXAllT PRACTICE. [i>rLAMM.viiu.v. 



to bear the sudden alteration, distend ; and 

 inflammation beoomea tho conscquonce. In 

 many cases it occurs prior to an attack of 

 symptomatic fever ; both diseases being fre- 

 quently occasioned by loiif^-continucd exertion, 

 particularly on hard roads, with subsequent 

 exposure to cold. Under such circumstances, 

 inflammation of the feet may bo confined to 

 one foot, or two ; or it may attack the whole 

 four ; but it is more common to the fore feet. 



AVhen a horse labours under inflammation 

 of the feet, persons in attendance on him can- 

 not discover, quickly the seat of disease ; con- 

 sequently, /he continues to get worse and 

 worse, until a veterinary surgeon is called in, 

 when it is found that the horse is breath- 

 ing with diflaculty, and, in all probability, is in 

 a profuse sweat. The groom then informs him 

 that the animal has been labouring under a 

 severe shiverinc; fit, frequently lying down, 

 stretching out all-fours, and groaning with in- 

 tense pain. The practitioner soon discovers 

 the seat of disease from the peculiar manner in 

 which the horse stands. lie also discovers a 

 singularity in his shifting and lifting up his 

 legs ; standing, by drawing his hinder legs 

 under towards his chest, to relieve the fore less 

 from the weight that is naturally upon them. 

 The practitioner will, however, be commonly 

 saved the trouble of much doubt in his ex- 

 amination, for he will, in general cases, not be 

 called in till the features of the complaint are 

 Eufficiently developed, by the utter impossi- 

 bility to make the horse remain on his legs. 

 On the contrary, when forced up, ho will lie 

 down again almost immediately, exhibiting 

 every symptom of distress and uneasiness. 



As soon, likewise, as the complaint has risen 

 to any height, the feet will be found intensely 

 hot, and the pastern arteries pulsating very 

 strongly. These symptoms alone will serve to 

 mark the disease. There is sometimes a little 

 tumefaction around the fetlocks ; and when one 

 foot is held up for examination, it gives so 

 much pain to the other, that the horse is in 

 danger of falling. The poor brute groans and 

 breaks out into profuse sweats, to be succeeded 

 by cold fits. His eyes are moist and red ; and 

 his whole appearance shows that he is la- 

 bouring under a most painful inflammatory 

 afiection. 



In this state the complaint exhibits itself 



the first two, three, or four days, after winch 

 its ofl*i'ct3 are various. In tho worst cases, 

 when the symptoms wo have stated have evi- 

 denced themselves a few days, a slight suppu- 

 ration of tho hoof, at the coronet, may bo ob- 

 served. From this may be pressed a small 

 quantity of reddish icluir, or thin matter. 



Thi.s inflammation, however, is not sufllciently 

 active to force off the hoofs, which have, in a 

 great measure, gradually become imperfect, and 

 sometimes deformed. This imperfect resolu- 

 tion may be known before its efiects on tho 

 horn have become apparent, by the very pecu- 

 liar gait the horse has when taken out, and 

 which once seen, can never be forgotten. His 

 manner is to throw his feet forward in a seem- 

 ingly burlesque style, and bring them down 

 with an odd action on the heel. In fact, he 

 clearly shows that he has lost the proper sen- 

 sibility of his feet. In other cases, again, of 

 imperfect resolution, the lamina?, losing their 

 elasticity and power, yield to the weight and 

 stress of the coffin-bone, which becomes pushed 

 backwards, and, in its passage, draws with it 

 the anterior crust of the hoof, which thus falls 

 in. The pressure also of the coffin-bone de- 

 stroys the concavity of the horny sole, which, 

 instead, becomes convex or pumiced, leaving a 

 large space towards the toe, filled with a semi- 

 cartilaginous mass, which is not the unfrequent 

 termination of inflammation of the foot. 



"When the attack is not commenced with 

 extreme violence, or when an early and judi- 

 cious treatment has been adopted, the inflam- 

 mation becomes easily removed, and, in the end, 

 the animal will recover the use of his feet. 



In treating inflammation of the feet, there is 

 but one certain path to pursue ; and that is, on 

 first discovering it, to bleed largely, to the ex- 

 tent of six quarts, at least ; and give cold bran 

 mashes, and prepare the horse as for a dose of 

 physic {^QQ List of Medicines ; where you can 

 select a ball of any strength, according to tho 

 size or power of the animal). The next object 

 is to attend to the feet themselves. 



After removing the shoes, pare the feet out 

 nicely, to as great an extent as they will ad- 

 mit; which will not be very much, in conse- 

 quence of the hardness of the sole, produced by 

 the inflammation. This done, rasp round the 

 foot and the edges of the wall, so that a shoo 

 may be lightly nailed on when required. This 



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