482 VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



Wrenching op the Hoof. 



When a firmly nailed shoe caught in a defect in the 

 street does not yield to the traction exerted by the horse's 

 momentum or struggles, the hoof receives the force of the 

 accident, and sustains injuries of variable severity and 

 character. Generally this accident results in the detach- 

 ment of the wall, one, two or three inches along the coronet, 

 and one to two inches downward over the laminal surface, 

 but in other cases the injury may be much more complicated. 

 The whole hoof may be wrenched off; the wall may be 

 fractured longitudinally and one-half or one-third of the 

 hoof detached ; the wing of the os pedis may be fractured, 

 and one or more of the phalangeal articulations may be 

 severely strained. 



TREATMENT.— These cases, under favorable condi- 

 tions, are usually curable, although in the complicated cases 

 some time may be required to restore the horse to full use- 

 fulness. The exceptions are found in cases neglected for 

 several days, at which time infection will have eliminated 

 all chances of curing the severe cases and will have allowed 

 the milder ones to develop complications which will delay 

 matters considerably. Septicaemia, exhaustion, and syno- 

 vial and articular complications will prove the undoing of se- 

 rious cases that are neglected, and quittor often follows the 

 milder cases that are permitted to undergo an infective in- 

 flammation. 



A horse so injured should be immediately transported 

 to the hospital after having the injured foot temporarily 

 protected against contamination with dirt, and then submit- 

 ted to an intelligent surgical treatment. 



RESTRAINT. — Recumbent restraint is essential to 

 the best results ; in fact, thoroughness would be impossible 

 in the standing position. To control the pain, the plantar 

 nerve on the affected side is anaesthetized with cocaine. 



First Step. — After applying a tourniquet to the leg to 

 control bleeding, the foot is given a liberal washing with 

 abundance of water. The hose from the hydrant or the large 

 fountain syringe should be turned upon the foot for ten or 

 fifteen minutes as the hand washes it clean with cotton or 

 sponge. At the same time the hair around the coronet is 

 clipped and shaved and rinsed off with the stream. 



Second Step. — The detached part of the hoof, no matter 

 how extensive, is now removed by paring or by cutting a 

 groove through the wall and effecting the extirpation with 



