NEW THEORY OF THE ETIOLOGY OF SHOE-BOIL. 
621 
affected. You tell him that he simply neglected to place the 
shoe-boil ring above the foot. The result is that he points to 
the shoe-boil rings which are still upon the horse’s legs to show 
you that they had not been as yet removed. In spite of the fact 
that all known precautions were taken to keep the foot away 
from the elbow, such as shoe-boil rings, rubber shoes, a bar of 
wood across the stall, and a well-bedded stall, he developed a 
shoe-boil; and still I ask what caused that tumor? I will go 
still further, and ask what caused this shoe-boil : A horse be¬ 
comes unmanageable and attempts to run away. While at the 
top of his speed the driver gives it a sudden, sharp and quick 
pull on the lines. He immediately falls in almost the same po¬ 
sition which he had while leaping in the air. To be brief, his 
position was that of an animal about to assume the standing 
position. Resting upon the sternum, front feet extended, head 
up, and the rest of the body still upon the ground. While in 
the position which I have just described he slid over the rough 
or cobblestone pavement for a distance of six feet. Beside 
minor skin abrasions, he received a lacerated wound of the skin 
of the left elbow about two inches long and running from right 
to left, which necessitated suturing. Upon the right elbow he 
received a few skin abrasions which at the time appeared to be 
most trivial. The animal was backed into a stall and tied up, 
so that he could not possibly lie down, fearing that the sutures 
might tear away the skin. Six hours afterwards the animal was 
again seen. Now, the elbow presented a different appearance. 
The left elbow region was swollen to about twice its normal size. 
The sutures began to give way, and through the edges of the 
wound there escaped serum tinged with blood. The right elbow 
presented a typical shoe-boil. Although the tumor has decreased 
quite considerably, still there remains an enlargement about the 
size of an orange. Upon the left nothing remains but a scar, 
with a slight thickening of the skin. Now, what was the cause 
of these shoe-boils ? He did not have them previous to being 
hitched to a wagon. 
Take the case of the horse with a large shoe-boil and of long 
