ACUTE FOUNDER. 
149 
entire surface of this callous substance issues a discharge 
of a peculiar fetid matter. In this complaint the horse 
suffers great pain and uneasiness, and quickly loses flesh 
It would not be safe for any one but a veterinary surgeon 
to attempt a cure for this loathsome complaint. 
CHAPTER VII. 
DISEASES OF TIIE FOOT. 
The diseases of the feet in horses are more numerous, and 
of a more complex nature than the inexperienced can have 
any idea of. The structure of the foot is very complicated, 
and having to sustain the weight of so heavy an animal, 
besides being exposed to the chances of many injuries, a 
knowledge of these is of paramount importance, both as 
regards the safety of the proprietor and the intrinsic value 
of the animal. When, therefore, we arrive at the anato¬ 
mical description of the horse, we shall dwell at some length 
upon the structure of the foot as well as of the pastern. 
ACUTE FOUNDER. 
Inflammation of the foot has been denominated “ acute 
founder.” It is the cause of many other diseases, and is 
more or less connected with them all. 
Inflammation of the sensible lamellae, or fleshy plates on 
the front and sides of the coffin-bone, is the cause of acute 
founder. These lamellae are thickly intersected with blood¬ 
vessels, like every other vascular part; and, consequently, 
from their exposure to violent and long-continued action, 
they are elongated and strained, more especially when trip 
