ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 139 



If the hind feet are affected, they are planted well to the 

 front to bring the weight on the heels, and the fore feet are car- 

 ried back, supporting as much of the weight as possible. It is 

 extremely difficult for a horse foundered behind to move at all. 

 All four feet are seldom affected at the same time. 



In mild cases the attacks last but a day or two. More 

 serious cases run their course in one to two weeks. The more 

 often the cases recur, the longer will be the period of recovery. 



The causes of founder are many and apparently unrelated. 

 Concussion is a prolific cause; over-exertion when tired, and ex- 

 haustion, are equally prolific. Rapid changes of temperature — 

 sudden cooling after becoming very hot, either by watering the 

 horse copiously, or by standing him uncovered in a draft — is a 

 very common cause and the one most easily prevented. Neglect 

 of "cooling out" a hot horse in summer might cause laminitis; 

 in the winter the same neglect would be more apt to cause con- 

 gestion of the lungs, followed by pneumonia. 



Chronic laminitis is the result of continued attacks of lam- 

 initis. There is always fever in the feet. Due to the inflam- 

 mation, more horn is deposited than the hoof needs; it is of poor 

 quality, and the hoof becomes misshapen and scaly. Rings, 

 showing this morbid growth, appear in the hoof. These rings 

 usually correspond to each acute attack. They are roughly 

 parallel to the coronet, as shown in Figure 91. The altered 

 position of the coffin-bone is also shown there. These rings are 

 easily distinguished from the grass rings in a healthy foot, re- 

 ferred to in the last chapter. 



Seedy toe is a cavity in the horn, usually in the toe, due to 

 a loss of secreting power in the laminae. It is usually a result 

 of founder. 



The anatomy of a horse is such that the muscles of the fore- 

 leg are at rest when he is standing squarely on both front legs. 

 This is not true behind, where he supports his weight alternately 

 on each leg, resting the other on its toe. 



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