232 DISEASES OF THE HORSE'S FOOT 



Always, however, the presence of septic infection must 

 be suspected and looked for. When this has occurred, the 

 inflammatory swelling becomes larger and more diffuse, 

 and the animal fevered This is then followed by a slough 

 of the injured part. A portion of the skin first becomes 

 gray, or even black, in appearance, and around it oozes an 

 inflammatory exudate, or even pus. The skin immediately 

 adjoining the spot of necrosis is swollen and hyperaemic, 

 and extremely painful and sensitive. Later, the necrosed 

 portion becomes cast off, and an open wound remains. 

 This as a rule marks the turning-point in the case. The 

 pain and other symptoms rapidly abate, and the wound, 

 with proper attention, is not more than ordinarily difficult 

 to treat. 



In the case of an actual wound the symptoms are prob- 

 ably less severe. The injury is, in this instance, the sooner 

 detected, and remedial measures put into operation. In 

 this manner the formation of septic material is often 

 checked, and nothing but the treatment of a simple wound 

 demands attention. 



There are, however, complications. 



Complications — (a) Diffuse Purulent Inflammation of the 

 Sub-coronary Tissue. — This condition is brought about by 

 the spread into the loose tissue of the coronary cushion of 

 the septic material introduced by the tread. The whole 

 coronet in this instance becomes excessively swollen, hot, 

 and painful, and the dangerous nature of the complication 

 is evident enough when the structure and situation of the 

 parts involved is considered. The amount of tendinous 

 and ligamentous material in the neighbourhood offers a 

 strong predisposition to necrosis, and the necrosis, with its 

 attendant formation of pus, offers a further danger when 

 the close proximity of the pedal articulation and the un- 

 yielding character of the horny box is considered with it. 



The pus formed in this condition may remain confined to 

 the coronet and break through the skin as an ordinary ab- 

 scess, or it may, before so doing, burrow beneath the wall 

 and invade the sensitive laminae. In this case, whenever 



