370 ACUTE LAMINITIS. 
shoes should be taken off or left on—and what kind of treatment it is 
proper to adopt. Any dispute about general facts pronounces both 
parties wrong; it assures us that the experience of the disputants is 
somewhat limited. The circumstances cannot be very marked where the 
recognition is not universal: the treatment can only be not confirmed, 
because none attended with conspicuous benefit has been proposed. 
Horses do often lie down in laminitis; but they more generally stand. 
When down, they should be suffered to remain; and when up, the first 
thing done should be the employment of slings. Place the cloth under 
the belly with the least possible noise; the man the horse is accustomed 
to, with orders to soothe the animal when alarm is excited, should be 
stationed at the head. The men who are arranging the slings should 
pause on the slightest sign of fear, and only resume their labor when 
A HORSE IN SLINGS, WITH THE FORE FEET IN HOT WATER, FOR ACUTE LAMINITIS. 
confidence is restored. The ropes, however, must not be drawn tight 
and fixed. The ends of the cords should, by means of two extra pul- 
leys, be carried to some distance from the animal. To the end of each 
rope ought to be fastened a stout ring, and on this, by means of hooks, 
weights should be suspended. As the weights are added, the man should 
caress the sufferer till sufficient counterpoise be attached to take the 
principal bearing from the feet without offering much obstacle to the 
breathing. 
With regard to the shoes, we should first soften the hoof by allowing 
the feet to soak in warm water in which a portion of any alkali has been 
dissolved. The slings being applied, the fore feet are to be placed in a 
trough of hot, soft water, and allowed to remain there till the hoof’ is 
quite pulpy. Then one foot is to be gently raised and the trough par- 
