DISEAS£S OP THE FOOT. j73 



there is accompanying disease of the lateral parts of the lout 

 (corns, bruises, pricks, absorption or distortion of the heels ot 

 the pedal bone, side bones, etc.), but tapping the sole with a 

 hammer on each side of the body of the frog, or striking the 

 wall in the region of the quarter will cause the patient to flinch. 

 Pressure with the thumb over the middle of the flexor tendon, 

 on its inner side or on its outer, as deeply as can be reached 

 m the hollow of the heel, the foot being bent back, causes 

 suffering. There is more or less wasting of the muscles of the 

 limb from disuse, but this is especially marked on the breast, 

 above the elbow, and outside the shoulder-blade. Hence the 

 disease is usually referred to the shoulder as siveeiiy. It is most 

 readily confounded with spiain of the flexor tendon behind the 

 head of the small pastern bone, but is easily distinguished by 

 the heat and contraction of the heels and the tenderness of the 

 centre of the sole and the quarters to strokes of the hammer. 

 To distinguish it from other diseases of the feet I must refer to 

 these individually. 



Treatment. — Usually unsatisfactory except in certain recent 

 cases. First soothe inflammatory action, give a laxative (aloes), 

 remove the shoes, shorten the toe, and keep standing from 

 morning to night in a puddle of wet clay without stones or gravel, 

 in which the animal will sink to the top of the hoof. At night 

 place in a comfortable dry stall with a poultice on the diseased 

 foot. Unless the inflammation is severe, apply a mild blister 

 to the front and sides of the pastern. If not applied at first 

 this should be resorted to as soon as inflammation moderates, 

 and is to be repeated when the effects of the first pass off. 

 Cases that resist this treatment will frequently recover under 

 the action of a seton passed through the frog, and a run for a 

 month or two in a damp pasture free from stones. The 

 recovery may be a restoration to perfect soundness, when the 

 surface of the bone has not been diseased, or it may be a re- 

 moval of lameness in connection with a union of the bone and 



