CHRONIC FOUNDER.
—In a majority of cases the above treatment will be followed by a good recovery, but an animal once foundered is probably more likely to suffer from a subsequent attack. If the lameness does not entirely disappear in a week or ten days, it is seldom that a complete recovery takes place. In such cases the animal is likely to remain unfit for road work and to continue to show more or less soreness. These are the cases that are later said to have “chest founder,” or “stove up in the shoulder,” owing to the fact that the muscles of the chest waste away from lack of free use.
In some cases still more serious results follow an acute attack of founder. The inflammation may be so severe that there is separation between the hoof and structures, the formation of pus, and a descent of the central organs of the foot, which causes a bulging of the sole. In such cases, even though recovery takes place to such an extent that it is advisable to allow the animal to live, it is not fit for work, and can only be used for breeding purposes.