INFLAMMATORY AFFECTIONS 275 
undoubtedly is ; but it is cruelty with an aim that is truly 
benevolent, and the object of our benevolence is the animal 
upon whom the cruelty is practised. 
One word of advice is needed. The forced exercise must 
be commenced early. In the later stages, when the stage 
of congestion has passed from that to the acuter stages of 
the inflammation and the outpouring of the inflammatory 
exudate, then forced exercise cannot be safely commenced. 
The loss of adhesion between the pedal bone and the horny 
box, which we know to be then existent, negatives its 
advisability. 
By many it is advised to always remove the shoes. From 
what we have already said, it will be seen that this is not 
our practice. But one argument in favour of so doing 
appears to us to carry weight, and that is that ‘ dropping’ 
of the sole is probably prevented from becoming so marked. 
That condition, however, is entirely dependent upon the 
changes occurring within the horny box. It is bound to 
occur with the animal shod or unshod, and to reach a stage 
when only contact with the ground prevents its further 
descent. The complication then sometimes following— 
namely, penetration of the sole by the bone, is not prevented 
by having the shoes removed. It may, in fact, be thus 
rendered more likely. 
Internal treatment consists in the exhibition of suitable 
febrifuges and the administration of a dose of aloes. 
With regard to the wisdom of the latter proceeding, 
opinion seems to be divided. Personally, we hold an open 
mind concerning it. This much is certain: in many 
cases of laminitis—those cases which have their origin in 
overfeeding with an irritating food—there is already a 
strong predisposition to enteritis. The administration of 
aloes in this case is extremely apt to induce a fatal super- 
purgation. Aloes is, again, contra-indicated when the 
laminitis is a result of excessively long journeys, and the 
patient is already greatly exhausted. Neither can it be 
advocated in the laminitis occurring as a sequel to septic 
metritis or to pneumonia. 
18—2 
