Diseases of the Horse's Foot

by H. Caulton Reeks

Immediately the abscess contents have found exit at the coronet, the cavity formerly occupied by the pus should be explored. If to any extent it is found then to have 'pocketed' beneath the upper border of the wall, a counter-opening should be made where the horn of the wall has been thinned with the rasp.

When it so happens, either from extensive bruising or from the action of excessive cold, that we have or suspect the condition of sloughing, then the first indication is to aid the live tissues to throw off the necrosed portion. In spite of what is sometimes urged to the contrary, a hot poultice is, perhaps, the best means of bringing this about. Directly the necrosed piece is shed, a wound remains which, so far as treatment is concerned, may be regarded exactly as that left by the formation of pus. Hot water applications, some three or four times daily, will serve both to cleanse the wound and also to maintain vitality in the tissues immediately surrounding it. After each washing, the use of a strong antiseptic solution to the wound is again beneficial.

In the case of an actual wound, whether, as in overreach, affecting the coronet alone or involving destruction of part of the wall, or, as in the case of toe-tread, penetrating the pedal articulation, the treatment to be followed is simple enough, in theory, if not always easy to carry out. It consists solely in maintaining a rigid asepsis of the parts until healing is well advanced or complete. The whole foot, including the coronet, should first be thoroughly washed in warm water. At the same time there should be used some agent that will tend to remove the natural grease of the parts. In this manner cleansing will be rendered more thorough, and penetration of the antiseptic solution to be afterwards applied made the more certain. The most ready way of effecting this is to use the ordinary stable 'water'-brush, and plenty of a freely-lathering soap.

This done, the foot should be rinsed in cold water, and afterwards constantly soaked in a cold antiseptic bath. Where it is inconvenient or impossible to have the constant bathing carried out, a dry antiseptic dressing may be tried in its stead. In this case the foot should first be thoroughly washed and dressed as before. Afterwards an antiseptic powder in the shape of a mixture of iodoform 1 part, boracic acid 10 parts, should be freely dusted on the wound, a pledget of carbolized tow or cotton-wool placed over it, and the whole maintained in position with a bandage previously soaked in a 1 in 500 solution of perchloride of mercury. Once on, this dressing should be allowed to remain until healing is complete. Should the animal manifest pain, however, by constantly pawing, or should swelling and heat of the parts be suspected, the bandage should be removed, and the condition of the wound ascertained.

An excellent example of the value of this method of treatment is that given below:

'I call to mind a valuable hunter in my practice a few seasons since, who, whilst hunting, we suppose, struck himself in the way we suggest. He not only removed the superior portion of the inner heel, but tore about 3 inches of the hoof from the top nearly to the bottom. This was clapped back by the owner, tied with a handkerchief, and the horse removed home. When the handkerchief was removed, I confess I did not think the horse looked at all like hunting again. The heel was fairly pulled down, the portion of the hoof that was hanging to it I could easily have wrenched off. The parts were fomented, however, with warm water which was slightly carbolized. I then removed a great portion of the heel and the lateral cartilage, which was split; placed the portion of hoof again on the laminæ, smothered the wound with iodoform pulv., covered it with cotton-wool packing, and all the boracic acid I could get it to hold. A piece of linen bandage was then tightly wrapped a few times round, and the lot enclosed in a plaster-of-Paris bandage. I did not undo it for a fortnight, when, to my great pleasure, the heel and hoof presented a highly satisfactory appearance. I did it up in much the same way for another ten days, then put the sand-crack clamps into the hoof and fixed it to the sound part. The hoof remained in position while the new horn grew from the top, and the horse hunted again the same season.'[A]

[Footnote A: Veterinary Record, vol. ix., p. 501 (Bower).]

Sequels.—Either of the complications we have mentioned—as, for instance, Arthritis, Sand-crack, or Quittor—may persist and remain as sequels to the case. In addition to these, there may be left behind a cavity in the horn of the wall (see Fig. 109), or a loss of the horn-substance of the wall proper, as that depicted in Fig. 112, or described under the heading of False Quarter.