278 DISEASES OF THE HORSE’S FOOT 
catching, was now so slow and deeply regular that for one 
brief moment the thought flashed across our mind that he 
was dead. He was in a profound sleep. 
Other operators sometimes give the exudate escape while 
making the grooves in what is now known as ‘Smith’s 
Operation.’ 
In this operation the hoof is so grooved as to allow of 
its expansion, so relieving the pressure on the sensitive 
structures within it. Incidentally, the inflammatory exudate 
is given exit. 
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Fic. 120.—Di1acram oF HooF SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE 
TureE GROOVES MADE IN THE TREATMENT OF LAMINITIS. 
The animal is cast, the shoes removed, and three vertical 
grooves made in the wall. The first is cut down the centre 
of toe, extending from the coronet to the ground surface. 
The second is made to the right of this, and the third to the 
left, each following the direction of the horn fibres, and each 
distant about 2 inches from the first (cee 1, 2, and 8, 
Fig. 120). nu 
Each of the grooves must run comp'.tely from the 
coronary margin to the ground surface, and each should be 
carried through the substance of the horn until the horny 
lamine are reached. This done, the underneath surface of 
the foot is grooved at the white line (see curved groove 4, 
