346 DISEASES OF THE HORSE’S FOOT 
leaving nothing but healthy tissue behind. This, with a 
suitable dressing, heals and gives no further trouble. 
The after-treatment consists in the application of hot 
poultices. These tend to greatly ease the pain, and at the 
same time to facilitate the removal of the slough. The 
poulticing should be continued, therefore, until the sloughing 
comes about, which happens, as a rule, at about the fifth or 
seventh day. 
Immediately the slough is cast off, the poultices may be 
discontinued and dressing of the wound carried out. This 
consists of injections of solutions of zine chloride 1 in 200, 
perchloride of mercury 1 in 1,000, carbolic acid 1 in 20, of 
Villate’s solution, or of such other antiseptic as the surgeon 
may think fit. The dependent orifice at the sole should be 
kept open for as long as possible, being occasionally trimmed 
round with the drawing-knife, and scooped out with a 
sharp-edged director. 
Directly a healthy and pink-looking granulation is 
observed along the track of the iron, and the discharge 
therefrom takes on a thick and yellow appearance, the 
strength of the antiseptic solutions should be gradually 
diminished. This point, in fact, is of great importance in 
treating all wounds of the foot. There is a great temptation, 
on account of the known excessive liability of the parts to 
septic infection, to use an antiseptic solution unduly strong. 
What must be remembered is that used too strong they 
themselves give rise to dead tissue, or to impermeable layers 
consisting of compounds of the discharges with themselves, 
and so create substances that prove a source of irritation 
and subsequent trouble. 
The Potential Cautery.—This is employed in the treatment 
of sub-horny quittor, either in the solid form (in sticks, in 
lumps, or in the powder), or in the liquid form, when it is 
injected with a quittor syringe. 
In the former method such drugs as perchloride of mer- 
cury in the lump, or nitrate of silver, chloride of zinc, and 
caustic potash or soda in the stick, are introduced into 
each of the sinuses present. This is done by means of 
a director or a probe. 
