SORGE PRICKS 



481 



all of which combined constitute a favorable condition for 

 the infliction of a wound, as compared with the filthy con- 

 ditions under which the other hoof punctures are sustained. 

 In fact, few misdriven nails that are promptly withdrawn 

 ever .cause either lameness or inflammation, and indeed 

 many of them that sojourn for several days, promptly end 

 favorably by no other treatment than that of readjusting the 

 shoe. It is the delay in discovering the cause of the lame- 

 ness and the inadequate "first aid" that renders these acci- 

 dents serious, in certain cases. 



TREATMENT.— The "first aid" usually administered 



Fig. 245 — Dressing for Operation on the Wall, against Forge Pricks and 



Nail Treads. 



by the horse shper is seldom properly directed at the hot- 

 bed of the infection. Usually the paring to evacuate pus 

 is done at the sole while the hot-bed of the infection is higher 

 up beneath the wall, at a point seldom ever invaded by the 

 horse shoer's knife. 



The general recommendations for the treatment of nail- 

 treads will answer for forge pricks with the one exception 

 that the V-shaped excavation in the wall should extend 

 higher in order to overlap the diseased area. In fact 'it is 

 usually necessary to extend the apex of the excavation, to the 

 lower border of the coronary cushion. The dressing, shoe- 

 ing, and after care do not differ from that of nail-treads. 



