H76 THE FARM DOCTOR. 



following an evident injury or a long-standing disease may 

 arouse suspicions of this, and if grating can be heard the case 

 is certain. Treatment is rarely successful, excepting in circum- 

 scribed fractures from wounds, in which case the detached 

 bone must be removed. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT. LAMINITIS. FOUNDER. 



This consists in inflammation of the sensitive parts of the 

 foot, but predominating in the anterior portion of the laminae, 

 where the greatest strain comes in standing. 



Causes. — The disease may arise from direct injury as in over- 

 exertion on hard roads, blows, bruises, or freezing of the feet, 

 pricks or binding with nails, continued injury from a badly 

 applied shoe, or the constant strain upon the feet during a long 

 sea voyage. It may also occur from a sudden chill, from drink- 

 ing cold water when heated and fatigued, from overloading of 

 the stomach with grain, from muco-enteritis, the result of an 

 over-dose of purgative medicine, or from diseases of the lungs 

 (pneumonia, bronchitis). Small and deformed feet and large 

 flat ones often suffer. Horses with heavy fat carcases are also 

 predisposed. 



Symptoms. — When not caused by direct injury to the foot, it 

 is usually ushered in by fever and general stiffness and soreness 

 of the surface, with or without shivering, but independent of any 

 tenderness of the foot. If not relieved these are soon followed 

 by tenderness of the foot, usually predominating at the anterior 

 part, but sometimes settling in the heel and causing /^^^/ 

 sesamoiditis. When acute inflammation is developed in the 

 laminae of the fore feet the horse is in a high fever, with full hard 

 pulse, excited breathing, distended nostrils, extension of the 

 fore feet forward, so that they rest only on the heels, and bring- 

 ing of the hind feet far forward beneath the belly, to bear as 

 much of the weight as possible. If moved, the horse groans, 

 sways himself back on his hind parts, and drags the fore-feet 



