The prognosis depends on the character of the inflammation and the promptness and thoroughness of the treatment. Acute laminitis may respond to prompt, careful treatment in from ten to fourteen days. Subacute laminitis responds readily to treatment. The prognosis is least favorable in the chronic form.
The preventive treatment is very important. Dietetic causes are responsible for a large percentage of the cases of this disease. Horses that are accustomed to being fed and watered at irregular periods and after severe or unusual exercise seem to be able to stand this treatment better than animals that are more carefully cared for, but even this class of animals do not always escape injury. Stockmen should realize the danger of producing an inflammation of the feet by feeding grain and giving cold water to horses immediately after severe exercise. Overfeeding should also be avoided. Careful nursing may prevent the occurrence of laminitis as a complication of other diseases.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.—This foot shows the changes in shape and appearance of wall and sole occurring in chronic laminitis.]
The treatment of the inflammation is as follows: The removal of the shoes and the necessary trimming of the foot should be practised early in the inflammation; the horse should be placed in a roomy box-stall that is well bedded with cut straw; during the cool weather it may be necessary to blanket the animal; if the weather is hot and the flies annoy the patient, the stall should be darkened; in serious cases, and when the animal is heavy, it may be advisable to use a sling; hot water fomentations are to be preferred; the patient may be stood in a tub of hot water or heavy woollen bandages that have been dipped in hot water and wrung, out as dry as possible may be applied to the feet; the temperature of the water should be no hotter than can be comfortably borne with the hands; the results of this treatment depend on the faithfulness with which it is carried out; a poultice of ground flaxseed should be applied to the foot at night, or during the interval between the foot-baths. This treatment may be continued until the acute inflammation has subsided.
If the animal is inclined to eat, it should be fed very little roughness and grain. Soft feeds are to be preferred, and one quart of linseed oil given as a physic. After a period of from ten days to three weeks, depending on the tenderness of the feet, the wall at the toe should be shortened, the sole trimmed if necessary, flat shoes rolled at the toe placed on the feet, and the animal allowed to exercise a short time each day in a lot or pasture. As the hoof grows rapidly, it is necessary to trim it carefully every three or four weeks and replace the shoes. The wall at the toe should be kept short, but excessive thinning of the sole should be avoided.
The same line of treatment as recommended for the horse may be used for laminitis in cattle. If marked diseased changes occur in the feet, it is not advisable to attempt the treatment of chronic laminitis, unless it is in valuable breeding animals.
QUESTIONS
1. Give a general description of the foot.
2. State the nature and causes of side-bones.
3. What are the causes of navicular disease? Give symptoms and treatment