258 DISEASES OF THE HOESE'S FOOT 



up ' feeding materials now on the market. Many are com- 

 posed of substances that may be regarded as absolutely 

 opposed to the correct feeding of a horse, and their use can 

 only be followed by this and other evil results. 



Another most fruitful cause of laminitis is a severe and 

 continued inflammatory condition of the system elsewhere. 

 It is the laminitis known to veterinary surgeons as 'metas- 

 tatic,' and perhaps the two most notable examples of it are 

 the laminitis following a prolonged attack of pneumonia, 

 and the ' Parturient Laminitis ' occurring as a concomitant 

 of septic metritis. 



Parturient laminitis it is that offers us the most striking 

 illustration of the truth that a poisoned state of the blood- 

 stream is a sure factor in the causation of an attack. From 

 the direct evidence of our senses (namely, manual exploration 

 of the infected womb, and the stench of the exuding discharge) 

 we know that we have in the interior of the womb matter 

 in a state of putrescence. From the experience of previous 

 post-mortems we know, further, that the putrescent matter 

 thus originating often gains the blood-stream, and forms 

 foci of septic lesions elsewhere — liver or lung. When, 

 therefore, during an attack of septic metritis a condition of 

 laminitis supervenes, we are justified in attributing it to 

 the escape of septic matter from the already infected uterus. 

 In the same category of laminitis from metastasis may 

 also be placed the laminitis occurring as a result of an over- 

 dose of aloes. The enteritis thus set up is often followed 



by laminitis, and that of a serious type. 



Prolonged and excessive work upon a hard road is also 

 apt to induce an attack. When this occurs it in many 



cases resolves itself into a case of cruelty. (See reported 



case, No. 1, p. 279.) 



Laminitis from this cause was frequent among coach and 



carriage horses in the pre-railroad period, and resulted from 



attempting to obtain from the animal a faster pace and a 



greater number of miles than he was physically capable of 



giving. 



In our day, however, it is more often a result of gross 



