DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 453 
away of the horn when applying the shoe, thereby keeping the sole 
at this point too thin. 
Turning up of the toe—In many cases of laminitis which have 
become chronic it is found that the toe of the foot turns up; that the 
heels are longer than natural; while the hoof near the coronary band 
is circled with ridges like the horn of a ram. Even in cases in which 
recovery has taken place, and in other diseases than laminitis, these 
ridges may be found in the wall of the foot. In such cases, however, 
the ridges are equally distant from one another all around the foot, 
while in turning up of the toe the ridges are wide apart at the heels 
and close together in front, as seen in the figure. (Plate XX XVII, 
fig. 4.) These ridges are produced by periods of interference with 
the growth of horn alternating with periods during which a normal 
or nearly normal growth takes place. When the toe turns up it is 
because the coronary band in front produces horn very slowly, while 
at the heels it grows much faster, causing marked deformity. 
Animals so affected always place the abnormally long heel first 
upon the ground, not alone because the heel is too long, nor as in 
acute or subacute laminitis to relieve the pain, but for the reason that 
the toe is too short and lifted away from its natural position. To 
bring the toe to the ground the leg knuckles at the fetlock joint. 
The pain and impairment of function in these cases always result 
in marked atrophy of the muscles of the forearm and shoulder, and to 
some extent of the pectorals, while the position of the fore legs 
advances the shoulder joints so far forward as to cause a sunken 
appearance of the breast, which the laity recognize as “ chest 
founder.” 
The lesions of turning up of the toe are permanent, and are the 
most interesting pathologically of all the complications of laminitis. 
Treatment.—The treatment of laminitis is probably more varied 
than of any other disease, and yet a large number of cases recover for 
even the poorest practitioner. 
Prevention—To guard against and prevent disease, or to render 
an unpreventable attack less serious than it otherwise would be, is the 
highest practice of the healing art. In a disease so prone to result 
from the simplest causes, especially when the soundest judgment may 
not be able to determine the extent of the disease-resisting powers of 
the tissues which are liable to be affected, or of what shall in every 
instance constitute an overexcitement, it is not strange that horse 
owners find themselves in trouble from untintentional transgression. 
If the disease were dependent upon specific causes, or if the stability 
of the tissues were of a fixed or more nearly determinate quality, some 
measures might be instituted that would prove generally preventive; 
but the predisposing causes are common conditions and often can not 
