103 



the foot is raised, the arteries throb, and the superficial veins 

 become very much distended. The pulse increases in force 

 and number, frequently going up to 80, and even 100. In 

 slight cases the countenance is tranquil, and he merely shifts 

 his weight from one foot to the other. This latter may be one 

 of the fluctuations of the chronic condition, attracting little 

 notice, but eventually, in most cases, it prepares the way for a 

 subsequent and more violent attack. 



PROXIMATE CAUSES OF LAM1NITIS. 



Some of the immediate causes that contribute to an acute 

 attack of this disease deserve mention. Amongst these I deem 

 over exertion, when the animal is out of tone, and the weather is 

 wet and cold, as a very common cause of this disorder. Fast 

 driving, after standing inordinately in a stable, is very apt to 

 produce it, especially in hot weather, and cold water being 

 given the animal to drink. So that too much or too little work 

 may equally be regarded as causing it. 



A horse is often affected in one foot after standing a long 

 time upon it, in consequence of a morbid condition of the other. 

 The standing necessary in such a case is known to be a second- 

 ary cause of this disease. Inaction arrests the natural flow of 

 blood through the veins, producing congestion and its conse- 

 quences. 



Wheat, and all kinds of rich food given or taken in inordi- 

 nate quantities is a well-known cause that leads to laminitis, by 

 clogging the stomach and deranging the digestive processes. 



The thoroughbred horse is more often affected than any other 

 class from the latter cause. High feeding and inactivity, so 

 foreign to the natural habits of the animal, leads to that mys- 

 terious process called metastasis, affecting the brain, the thora- 

 cic and abdominal viscera, and the feet. I entertain no doubt 

 whatever that pneumonia and pleurisy, gastritis and laminitis, 

 and possibly other visceral derangements, as well as those of 

 the skin, are often the products of indigestion. 



Elsewhere (see article on Tetanus) I have alluded to the func- 

 tions of the nervous system, through which the changes of loca- 



