FARRIERY.
393
and a considerable swelling round its basis. The method of curecommonly practised, and recommended by authors, is the actualcautery, or some very active caustic. Punctures differ little ornothing, in the manner of treating them, from wounds; only thesole or frog should be scraped thin all round the orifice ot' thewound, which, at the same time, if loo small, should be enlarged,and an emollient poultice applied, taking care that no fragment ofextraneous substance remain in the wound, and keeping the wholehoof moist and soft with similar poultices around it; and, in casesattended with violent pain, recourse must be had to such remediesas are proper in inflammatory cases ; particularly moderate dosesof nitre, given as before directed. Contusions or bruises happenfrequently on the coronet or top of the hoof, from the treading otother horses feet, which will occasion lameness; although at thesame time no external mark of violence will appear on the coronetfarther than a little swelling; but the horse will shew a sense ofpain when the affected part is touched or pressed upon. The dis-cutient poultice, No. 55, maybe applied with success, if conti-nued for ssme time.
Of Foundered Feet.
The temi foundered is frequently applied to lame horses in avery vague manner, and without any determined or iixed mean-ing; for, when a horse shews any defect or impediment in movinghis fore feet, he is then pronounced to be foundered, whether liereally has been so or not; that is, according to what is commonlyunderstood by that term, owing to the want or neglect of not mak-ing proper distinctions of the different diseases in the feet. If weconsult authors who have treated upon this subject, we shall findtheir accounts of it very dark and imperfect; they bewilder thereader, and convey but a very indistinct idea of the nature of thedisease: lienee many errors are committed in practice, to the de-struction of a number of valuable horses, which otherwise, byproper management, might have been rendered sound and useful.When a horse is first attacked with the disorder, he shews a greatrestlessness, is hot and feverish, heaves much at the Hanks, breathesquick, has a quick strong pulse, and groans much when movedabout; at the same time, he shews symptoms of the most violentpain, sometimes in one, but more frequently in both fore feet: forwhich reason, he lies down much ; but, when forced to move for-wards, he draws himself together, as it were into a heap, by bring-ing forward his hind fec-t almost under his shoulders, in order tokeep the weight of his body as much as possible from resting uponhis tore feet. It is almost universally allowed, that the cause ofthis disease proceeds from too violent exercise, such as riding veryhard upon stony grounds or turnpike roads, and that young horsesare most liable to it; and to these we may likewise add, unequalpressure upon the internal parts of the foot, from the concave orhollow form ot the common shoes. All these causes combined to-gether, when a horse is of a plethoric or full habit of body, andnot accustomed to violent exercise, occasion this disea-e in agreater or less degree. To form some faint idea of this malady inhorses, we may in a great measure appeal to what we experienceourselves in running upon hard ground; for we find, that it oecasions a great heat, attended with a smart pain in our feet, whichwould be greatly increased from uneasy shoes, especially if com-pelled, like horses, to continue the running for any considerabletime. 1 he feet likewise become turgid and painful after a longday’s journey, especially if the person is not accustomed to travel ;Rnd tins inllammation frequently terminates in blister's upon tiresoles ot tire leet. lienee it is evident, that, itr proportion to thehabit of body the horse is irr at the time, ami the violence of thelabour or exercise he has undergone, tire inflammation in the in-ternal parts of the foot will he more or less violent; arrd besidesbeing attended with all the symptoms of fever in general, particu-lar local symptoms will indicate the seat of the disease to a cer-tainty. |rr stepping forward he draws his leg backward, beforesetting his foot, to the ground, selling down Iris heel with great'caution, on which he rests most, the toe being turned a little up-Vauls, as if afraid of touching the ground. From this symptomonly, we may judge with certainty, even though at a distance,upon seeing a horse walk, whether he lias ever been foundered ornot. 1 ho hoofs at the same time are exceedingly hot; and if \va-er i„ thrown upon them, they dry instantly : if any attempt isnac e to pull olf any of the shoes, the horse shews great uneasinessp-’ii 1 le ' eu ' it twist or pressure made upon any part ot lire foot,
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and a great unwillingness to support the weight of his body uponthe other foot, especially when they are both alike affected.Since the circulation is greatly increased, and the current ot bloodchiefly determined towards the fore feet, attended with symptomsof the most violent pain, we may thence conclude, that there is aninflammation in these parts; therefore, the cure must first de at-tempted by diminishing the circulation of the blood, by topicalbleedings in some of the veins of the leg; by giving cooling sa-line purges; clysters, an opening diet, and plenty of diluting li-quor iotir or five times a-day, together with emollient poulticesapplied warm all round the hoofs, to soften them, and keep up afree and equal perspiration ; observing, that his shoes be easy uponhis feet, but by no means to pare the sole or frog to that excesswhich is commonly done in cases of this kind, farther than clean-ing awav the hardened surface of the sole and frog, in order thatthe poultice may have the desired effect, by increasing the per-spiration through the pores; and to avoid all manner of greasy oroily applications to the hoofs, for the reasons already given.
Of Hoof-houndness.
This complaint affects the hoofs differently, according to theirnatural shape, ami the treatment they are exposed to, whether itbe injudicious shoeing, keeping the hoofs too hot and dry, or (tar-ing the sole and hinders at every time they are shoed. Some areafifected w ith a circular contraction of the crust, compressing thewhole foot. In others the crust is contracted at the coronet only,compressing the annular ligament, &c. A third species is, wheneither one or both heels are contracted ; hence, therefore, in pro-portion to the degree of contraction, the internal parts of the footare compressed, and the horse becomes more or less lame. As toany method of cure, all that can be said is, that, as this disease is oneof that kind which comes on gradually, yet perceptibly, it may byproper care and management, when early attended to, he prevented.But when it once becomes confirmed, it never will admit of athorough cure. It may he so far palliated, however as to render ahorse in some degree sounder, by keeping the hoofs cool andmoist; as, in this case, they are apt to he very hot, dry, and hard,his shoes should he flat, narrow, and open heeled; the hoofs nevergreased nor oiled ; the soles never pared. \\ hen it is consideredhow much the elastic power of the heels depends on the bars,which act as a spring between them and the frog, it must appearunreasonable that they should he shaved away, as is loo often doneby farriers, tinder the idea of preventing corns; though by such aprocess corns are created. A good open heel is the indication of apowerful foot. But as tiie crusts of the heels in these hoofs areprelernaturally hish and strong, they should always be pared downtill they are lower than the frog, that if possible it may rest uponthe ground.
In the human body, corns in the feet, are properly so termed,from their horny substance ; hut what are called corns in the feetof horses are very improperly named, as they are quite of an op-posite nature, rather resembling contusions, not unlike thosebruises which happen in the palms of the hands and fingers toworking people, where the skin is thick, and appears of a blackishred colour; being exceedingly painful at first, and containingblood, but in the end the serum being absorbed, the red particlesapp ar when the dead skin is removed, like red powder, in likemanner corns, or rather bruises, appear red and foxy, as the phraseis. Thev are situated in the sharp angle of the sole at the extre-mitv of the heels, where the crust rellects inward and forward,forming the binders. But they are more frequently met with inthe inside heel, from the manner of the horse’s standing, togetherwith the pressure or weight of the body, which is greater upon theinside of the hoof than the outside. Bruises of this kind are ex-ceeding painful, insomuch that the horse shrinks and stumbleswhen any thing touches or presses upon that quarter of the hoof;lienee lameness. This complaint arises from different causes, ac-cording to the natural formation of the hoofs, together with thetreatment they arc exposed to. For the cure cut away as fur as! the extravasation, and apply a pledget of lint, dipped in tinctureof myrrh, or in balsam of Peru. When the corn has been cut,the horse should he turned-out to grass, without shoes if practica-ble; or, if his labour cannot be dispensed with, let a chambered' II . 'hoe