428 



The lesions of turning up of the toe are permanent, and are withal 

 the most interesting pathologically of all the complications of 1am- 

 initis. 



Treatment. — The treatment of laminitis is i^robably more varied 

 than in other disease, and yet in spite of it a large number of cases 

 recover for even the poorest practitioner. Since there are two objects 

 to be attained in treatment — xjrevention and remedy — the matter will 

 be considered under the liead of ijrevention and curative measures. 



Prevention. — To guard against and prevent disease, or to render 

 an nnpreventable attack less serious than it otherwise would be, 

 is the highest practice of the healing art. In a disease so prone to 

 result from the simplest causes as seen in laminitis, and especially 

 when the soundest judgment may not be able to determine the extent 

 of the disease-resisting powers of the tissues which are liable to be 

 affected, or of what shall in every instance constitute an over-excite- 

 ment, it is not strange that horse owners find themselves in trouble 

 from unintentional transgression. If the disease was dependent upon 

 specific causes, or if the stability of the tissues w^ere of a fixed or 

 more nearly determinate quality, some measures might be instituted 

 that would prove generally i^reventive. But when we recall the 

 fact that predisposing causes are so prevalent and often can not 

 be remedied, that what is but gentle work in one instance may incite 

 disease in another, that what is food to-da}^ inay to-morrow prove 

 disastrous to health, and that necessary medical interference, no 

 matter how judicious, may cause a more serious complaint than that 

 which Avas being treated, the obstacles to contend with become plain. 

 Notwithstanding these difficulties there are some general rules to be 

 observed that will in part serve to prevent the development of an 

 unusual number of cases. In the first place all the predisposing 

 causes named must be removed where j)ossible, and when this is 

 impossible unusual care must be taken not to bring into operation an 

 exciting cause. Fat animals should, under no circumstances, have 

 hard work, and if the weather is warm or the variation of temi^era- 

 ture great they should have but slow, gentle labor until they become 

 inured to it, the tissues hardened and their excitability reduced to a 

 minimum. Green horses should always have moderate Avork for the 

 same reason, and particularly when changed from the farm and dirt 

 roads to city pavements. The increased concussion, changed hj^gienic 

 conditions, and artificial living readily become active causes of the 

 disease under these circumstances. Armj" horses just out of winter 

 quarters, track horses with insufficient preparation, and farmers' 

 horses put to work in the spring, are among the most susceptible 

 classes, and must be i^roteeted by work that is easy and gradual. If 

 long marches or drives are imi^erative, then the incumbrances must 

 be light as possible and the journey interspersed with frequent rests, 

 for this allows the lamina? to regain their impaired functional activity 



