OYEIl-EEACHING.l 



THE HORSE, AND 



[qttittoe. 



elapse before the discovery of the disease. If 

 so, have the shoe taken off, and let the smith 

 tap round the foot with his hammer. If the 

 horse does not flinch, let him try vrith his 

 pincers, by which he will easily discover the 

 seat of lameness, when he should act as directed 

 above. 



OVER-REACHING. 



"Wounds about the coronet are very common, 

 from one foot being set on the other. Hence 

 it is called over-reaching, and generally occurs 

 from a blow of the hind foot against the fore 

 foot, wounding the edge of the coronet, or that 

 part between the hair and hoof. We have known 

 the hind foot strike as high up as Vaefetloclc, 

 and make a complete sore ; but such is to be 

 considered only as a simple wound, or rather 

 as a laceration, or bruise. In no case let the 

 old farriers dress the sore, as they invariably 

 apply caustic remedies, which will make the 

 matter much worse than before. Eirst, wash 

 away every particle of dirt that may be in the 

 sore, or around it, with warm water and 

 sponge ; then take a pledget of tow, and satu- 

 rate it in compound tincture of myrrh, and 

 bind on with a linen bandage. Eepeat this 

 morning and night until the wound is healed. 



As we have here given a remedy for over- 

 reaching, a preventive cannot be out of place. 

 Over-reaching generally occurs in horses 

 having thick, upright shoulders, which par- 

 tially deprive them of the action of the fore 

 leg, as they cannot throw it out in the bold 

 manner in which horses whose shoulders are 

 placed more obliquely, do. The consequence of 

 this is, that the hind legs, having more freedom 

 of action, reach the fore legs before they are 

 able to get out of the way, which is the cause 

 of what is called over-reaching. 



To prevent this disagreeable affection, the 

 horse should be shod high before, which will 

 assist him in getting his fore legs on ; and 

 without calkins behind, which will render their 

 action slower, and thereby make all four legs 

 work in unison. 



QUITTOR. 



Quittor is one of the most troublesome 



wounds of the foot the veterinarian has to 



contend with. It must have existed some 



time when a peculiarly unhealthy state ex- 



316 



hibits itself, the ulcerated surface producing a 

 diseased secretion, which may spread consider- 

 ably around, and, in consequence, afiect other 

 parts. The tracts, called sinuses, are not diffi- 

 cult to ascertain, when we see the foot de- 

 pending ; and we all know that matter is sure 

 to find a deepened orifice, if possible ; but, 

 when covered with horn, how is that to bo 

 obtained ? Simply by the spreading of the 

 matter itself amongst sensitive parts, which, in 

 their turn, become diseased. Now the prin- 

 cipal care should be to lessen all this, or, m 

 other words, to remove the irritation then 

 existing. But if the injury should extend to 

 the ligamentous and cartilaginous parts, their 

 living powers being small, a very difterent 

 complaint is formed, and sometimes a very 

 tedious and troublesome one springs up, from 

 the difficulty of forming granulations in parts 

 with such small living powers. 



Quittor may arise from pricks in shoe- 

 ing, punctures, and over-reaching ; but with 

 draught-horses, the most common cause is 

 from wounds, or bruises, inflicted by a tread 

 on the coronet. AVe never saw this disease 

 in the front of the foot. It principally occurs 

 at the quarters, in the neighbourhood of the 

 lateral cartilages ; although we have heard 

 some say that the whole margin of the coronet 

 is liable. 



The great difficulty of treating quittor, from 

 its being so unpleasant a disease to contend 

 with, brought into use, by the older farriers, 

 some of the most violent means of cure. These 

 they adopted from their ignorance of its na- 

 ture : the burning out with a red-hot iron 

 was one of their favourite plans ; but, happily, 

 this is nearly abolished. 



A quittor, when it had entered on the 

 process of ulceration, and had dead portions of 

 matter thrown ofl: by suppuration, the farrier 

 would say a core is come out. The wound 

 should then be treated as a simple wound, or 

 abscess ; for farriers are too apt, on these occa- 

 sions, under the idea of assisting the coring 

 out, to introduce strong stimulants. Eeduce 

 the inflammation as much as possible, and 

 thin the surrounding horn ; and if the matter 

 appears to penetrate in a direct line, down- 

 wards only, make an opening in the hoof 

 below; but, in other cases, merely dress in 

 any mild way, either with a weak solution of 



