339 LAMENESS. 
To obtain the full benefit of the bath, the foot should enter it night 
and morning; the animal should be subjected to its operation for at least 
four hours each time, and the ingenuity ought to be exerted to prevent 
the hoof from becoming dry in the interim. Perhaps nothing is better 
for this purpose than the leather case, which is lined with sponge, and 
which can be procured of most tradesmen who deal in veterinary instru- 
ments; it is made to fit the foot, also to envelop the pastern. The bot- 
tom portion is formed of the stoutest leather, and will afford all desirable 
protection; while the sponge will retain the moisture, which this material 
permits to be renewed, should circumstances, such as the heat of the 
hoof or the warmth of the weather, cause the fluid to evaporate. How- 
ever, such additions must always be made with warm, cold water being 
unsuited for the purpose. 
These particulars have been thus fully detailed because lameness con- 
stitutes no inconsiderable portion of equine misery, and because such 
ailments are more frequently encountered than special forms of disease. 
To judge quickly and surely of such affections proves in no small degree 
veterinary proficiency; in every shade of lameness, the gentleman, unless 
more than usually practiced in such ailments, had better be guided by an 
educated opinion. Where it is possible to mistake another’s misery, it 
displays no boldness to risk chances upon our own judgment. 
Lameness is simply the difference of bearing cast, during progression, 
upon the several legs. Pain in the joints, bones, or tendons is most 
severe. It is even more terrible when inflammation of such structures 
is confined within the horny hoof; of this torture man can know nothing 
—he may rest the angry limb, may recline the body, or may seek conso- 
lation in friendly converse and in mental diversion. From all the higher 
pleasures the horse is excluded. It cannot rest the leg; and the instinc- 
tive dread which the sick animal displays of being unable to rise again 
prevents the quadruped seeking that relief a change of posture might 
afford. 
The horse always stands when seriously diseased; often the erect 
position is continued to the last, for the sufferer ceases to maintain it 
only with the relinquishment of life. During severe lameness in one 
foot, the animal seldom lies down; it stands and stands, often for months. 
How the limbs must ache! Yet the relief which the slightest motion 
might induce is avoided with the tenacity which pain begets when oper- 
ating upon excessive timidity. Often one spot is occupied for months ! 
During this tedious period one foot is held from the earth. The mind 
shrinks from conjecturing the torture which could prompt such an act; 
the reason retreats from contemplating the agony by which the deed can 
alone be occasioned; we shudder as the imagination remotely pictures 
