792 DISEASES AND THEIE TKEATMENT. 



the wet cloths should be kept on until that time, even if there is 

 no lameness, it is good practice to apply a sharp blister around the 

 heel and coronet. It is in any event necessary, and may be even 

 repeated once or twice, should there still remain any lameness. 

 In the meantime, as before stated, the horse should be kept quiet, 

 and if there is much lameness, there should be given in the first 

 place a small dose of physic, with laxative, cooling food. This is 

 all that is necessary to do in any ordinary case, and especially at 

 an early stage. 



It is next important not to expose the horse to conditions that 

 would strain or inj ure the foot until fully over the effects of the 

 injury. Consequently the horse at first should be driven very 

 moderately for two or three months, or more. If the road is rough, 

 frozen, or stony, there is such danger of straining, wrenching, or 

 bruising the foot, and thereby causing a relapse, that the horse 

 should not be driven, if it can possibly be avoided. 



If there is any contraction of either or both quarters, there 

 should be a special effort to overcome this also during the treat- 

 ment. (For full details of doing which, see " Shoeing," page 681.) 

 In opening the foot with the spreaders, great care should be taken 

 not to produce any irritation. The quarters should be opened 

 gradually. When the lameness has entirely disappeared, bring 

 the frog again slowly to the ground to the extent it will safely 

 bear. If any soreness is indicated, raise the heel a little, keeping 

 the foot moist to prevent contraction, and when the soreness 

 passes off, again gradually lower it. 



Some authorities advise bleeding in the foot in connection with 

 the treatment given; my judgment of this is that it is rarely 

 necessary, and is advisable only when the horse is very fat and 

 the lameness is very severe, or during its acute stage. The best 

 practitioners with whom the writer has conversed on the subject 

 do not bleed. 



If, after blistering, there is still lameness, it is evident that the 

 case has been running some time, and has assumed a chronic 

 stage. In this event, the next and last step of treatment for cure 

 is a frog seton. Prof. Williams's instructions for doing this are 

 so good that I cannot do better than to copy them : 



"If the near foot is to be operated upon, the needle should be 

 introduced from the frog upwards; but if the off one, from the heel 



