WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 491 
once he will be found in a day or two to be very lame in the injured 
member. Ifthe foreign body remains in the foot, he gradually grows 
worse from the time of puncture until the cause is discovered and 
removed. If, when shoeing, a nail is driven into the “quick” (sensi- 
tive lamin) and allowed to remain, the horse gradually evinces more 
pain from day to day; but if the nail has at once been removed by the 
smith, lameness does not, as a rule, show itself for some days; or, if 
the nail is simply driven “too close,” not actually pricking the horse, 
he may not show any lameness for a week or even much longer. At 
this point it is due to the blacksmith to say that, considering how thin 
the walls of some feet are, the uneasiness of many horses while shoe- 
ing, the ease with which a nail is diverted from its course by striking 
an old piece of nail left in the wall, or from the nail itself splitting, 
the wonder is not that so many horses are pricked or nails driven 
“too close,” but rather that many more are not so injured. It is not, 
by any means, always carelessness or ignorance on the part of the 
smith that is to account for this accident. Bad and careless shoers 
we do meet with, but let us be honest and say that the rarity of these 
accidents points rather to the general care and attention given by 
_ these much-abused mechanics. 
From the construction of the horse’s foot (being incased in an im- 
permeable, horny box), and from the elasticity of the horn closing 
the orifice, punctured wounds of the feet are almost always produc- 
tive of lameness. Inflammation results, and as there is no relief 
afforded by swelling and no escape for the product of inflammation, 
this matter must and does burrow between the sole or wall and the 
sensitive parts within it until it generally opens “between hair and 
hoof.” We can thus see why pain is so much more severe, why 
tetanus (lockjaw) more frequently follows wounds of the feet, and 
why, from the extensive, or at times complete, separation and “ cast- 
ing” of the hoof, these wounds must always be regarded with grave 
apprehension. 
Symptoms and treatment.—A. practice which, if never deviated 
from—that of picking up each foot, cleaning the sole, and thoroughly 
examining the foot each and every time the horse comes into the 
stable—will enable us to reduce to the minimum the serious conse- 
quences of punctured wounds of the feet. If the wound has resulted 
from pricking, lameness follows soon after shoeing; if from.the nails 
being driven too close, it usually appears from four to five days or a 
week afterwards. We should always inquire as to the time of shoe- 
ing, examine the shoe carefully, and see whether it has been partially 
pulled and the horse has stepped back upon some of the nails or the 
clip. The pain from these wounds is lancinating; the horse is seen to 
raise and lower the limb or hold it from the ground altogether; often 
he points the foot, flexes the leg, and knuckles at the fetlock. Swelling 
