ACUTE INFLAMMATION IN TIIE FEET. 
201 
time in the country, and that we considered perfectly well sea¬ 
soned and inured to the climate. This happened, I think, more 
particularly during our marches in the plains of Castile, a hot 
and rather sandy soil, than perhaps at any other time. The ve¬ 
terinary surgeons employed in the Peninsula may, therefore, be 
said to have seen as much, if not more, of this disease than any 
other set of practitioners; at all events, as arising out of the 
twofold circumstances I have mentioned. In our own country 
it is not of so frequent occurrence; and we see it most commonly 
take place after some great or violent exertion. But here we saw 
it continually appear as a consequence of slow, but long-continued 
fatigue ; and in this view, we can account for its extreme liability 
to occur after a sea voyage. The mere circumstance of standing, 
however, is not sufficient to satisfy my mind on this point. Some 
horses never lie down at all; and I have heard many people say that 
such horses are more subject to inflammation of the laminae than 
others. It is natural enough to suppose that this should be the 
case; but, for my own part, I have not observed that it actually 
is so. It may be worthy of remark, that the Portuguese and 
Spaniards seldom suffer their horses to lie down in the stable. 
They scarcely allow a four-feet standing for each, and attach 
them by means of a double collar shank, in such a manner as to 
preclude the possibility of their lying down. Yet I do not re¬ 
member to have seen any of them attacked with the disease in 
question. 
In a lecture which I have lately had the advantage of hearing 
Professor Dick, of Edinburgh, deliver upon this subject, he said, 
he has frequently seen this complaint arise from overloading or 
gorging the stomach with food. A horse, perhaps, gets loose, and 
eats an extraordinary quantity of any kind of grain he happens 
to meet with : an attack of inflammation of the feet is a likely 
consequence. And such is the sympathy, he observes, between 
the stomach, the alimentary canai, and the surface, that if we 
regard the hoofs as a continuation of the common integuments, 
this is not to be wondered at. I know not what share the feed¬ 
ing our horses on rye after landing at Corunna might have in 
producing this disease, but certain it is, that never either before 
that period or since have I seen it prevail to anything like the 
same extent; and I believe I may say, no other person living. 
From whatever cause, however, it may arise (and sometimes we 
find it take place without our being able to assign any very good 
reason for it at all), or under whatever circumstances it may 
occur, the treatment will be essentially the same. And here, as 
in pneumonia, we should at once have recourse to the most 
prompt and vigorous measures. We must endeavour, by all the 
vol. in. e e 
