416 THE HORSE. 



who drives the nail too near the laminae, and sometimes even abso- 

 lutely wounds them. It may be that the nail in its passage 

 upwards is not within an eighth of an inch of these delicate parts, 

 and the horse may not have flinched during the driving of it, but 

 when he is put to work the nail opposes a hard unyielding line to 

 the soft parts, inflammation is established, and possibly even matter 

 is formed which may end in quittor. When, on the day after 

 shoeing, a horse which was previously sound, goes lame, and the 

 foot is hot to the touch, it may generally be assumed that a nail 

 or nails have been driven too near to the quick, unless there is 

 evidence of laminitis from other causes. On tapping the crust with 

 a hammer, the horse will flinch at some particular spot, and there 

 is the nail which is in fault. Sometimes there is little inflamma- 

 tion as yet set up, but the pressure of the nail is sufficient to cause 

 lameness, and in either case the shoe should be taken off. Then, 

 if there is reason to suppose that matter has formed, the opening 

 from which the nail came out should be enlarged, and the matter 

 allowed to escape. If, however, the foot has been merely "bound," 

 it may be either left to nature, with a shoe lightly tacked on, and 

 a wet "swab" round the coronet, or it may be placed in a bran 

 poultice, which is the safest plan. 



When a nail is picked up on the road, the prognosis 

 will depend upon the part which it has penetrated. If it has 

 entered deeply into the toe of the frog, the probability is that the 

 navicular joint has been wounded, or probably the tendon of the 

 flexor at its insertion into the pedal bone, either of wiiich are very 

 serious accidents. If the wound is further back, there is less risk 

 of permanent injury, as the bulbous heels or cushion of the frog 

 will bear a considerable amount of injury without permanent 

 mischief. In any case the treatment should consist in cutting 

 away the horn round the opening, so as to allow of a free escape 

 of matter if it forms. At the same time inflammation should be 

 kept under by cold "swabs" to the coronet, or by putting the whole 

 foot into a bran poultice. 



Over-reaches, when slight, may be treated by the application 

 of friar's balsam, or tincture of arnica in full strength, which will 

 have a tendency to dry them up and prevent suppuration. If, 

 however, the heel is very much bruised, a poultice must be applied, 

 ]jut even then a little tincture of arnica should be sprinkled on it. 

 ^Vhen the bruise is so severe that a slough or core comes away, 

 the wf)und may be dressed with a piece of lint, dipped in a solution 

 of nitrate of silver, eight grains to the ounce of distilled water, 

 and over this a bran poultice. In most cases, however, it is better 

 to foment the part well and then apply the tincture of arnica neat. 



A BRUISE on a thin sole will sometimes cause matter to form, 

 in which case the horn must be cut away, and the case treated as 



