206 
A. ZUNDEL. 
some violent injury through the horny envelope of the tissues it 
covers, either when the hoof has been cut through and through by 
a sharp instrument, or as the result of some simple bruise with¬ 
out solution of continuity, contusion, or even crushing. Any for¬ 
eign body likely to produce a punctured wound of the foot may 
produce it. But in such cases as are accompanied by furuncle it 
is necessary that the wound should be more of a contused or 
bruised than of the punctured variety. B-ough, angular stones 
are the most common agents of injury, being often picked up be¬ 
tween the shoe and the frog, and then, pressing more or less upon 
the tissues underneath, they produce the same result when they 
are located in the laminae of the frog. 
A thick, voluminous frog in a foot with low heels is very much 
exposed to the class of injuries under discussion, equally with 
the frog whose horny covering has been pared too closely. 
(IV.) Treatment .—The first indication, says II. Bouley, when 
one has to treat a furuncle of the frog, is to thin down as much as 
possible the horn of the plantar region, and especially that of the 
frog, of the bars and the branches of the sole, in order to avoid 
the painful pressure it would produce if its thickness should in¬ 
terfere with the expansion of the parts. This done, if the frog 
is already punctured, and there is an opening communicating with 
the cavity where the core (or bourbillon) exists, a free incision or 
opening must be made through the hoof and the fibrous covering 
of the plantar cushion, and thus the escape of the pus facilitated. 
If the horny frog has remained intact, a longitudinal incision must 
also be made in order to allow the frog to discharge, and avoid 
further burrowing or undermining of the hoof. It is bad prac¬ 
tice to attempt to pull the core out with a sharp instrument. It is 
better to leave it undisturbed and wait for the natural process of 
elimination, which may, however, be hastened by the application 
of a poultice. The time required for the entire separation of the 
necrosed spot varies, and as it approaches, the animal begins to 
improve in the matter of resting his foot. When it becomes en¬ 
tirely detached, the cavity which it occupied in the plantar cushion 
is treated as a simple wound, with turpentine or tincture of aloes. 
However, a dressing supported by the shoe with plates is always 
