When the eschar has fallen off, the wound foon fills up; but should any particle of the cartilage or bone remain, and the exfoliation. have been imperfect, fresh fistulæ would ensue, and occafion the neceffity of a new operation; an inconvenience which I experienced before I had the advantage of reading St. Bel's Book. Probe the black spots, and if needful introduce a fufficiently folid tent, foaked in the abovenamed tincture, and lightly dufted over with powdered vitriol, or red precipitate, in order to facilitate the defired exfoliation, and confume part of the flesh covering it. When once the wound is found to the bottom, all danger is at an end, and the trouble is amply recom penfed. Run at grass previous to work.

NARROW HEELS, AND BINDING OF THE
HOOP;
OP; GROGGINESS AND SURBATING;
THE FOUNDERED FOOT, AND LOSS OF
HOOF.

NARROW HEELS. I have already spoken fufficiently of cafes of this kind, and will only add, that hard, narrow, and wiry heeled horfes, of all others, demand the new method of fhoeing; and that you had better to avoid vexation, knock your horfe on the head at once, than have him fhod by a common farrier, who will, conjurer-like, every time of fhoeing, open the

heels;

heels; that is to fay, cut away the substance which nature has placed there, expressly for the purpose of keeping them open.

GROGGINESS is that stiffness arifing from battering of the hoofs on hard ground, or fwelling of the legs, and contraction of the finews. A horse bearing all upon his heels in his trot,

ftyled groggy, and the defect is generally incurable; at least I have found it so after ten months trial. SURBATING is derived from the Sobatitura of the old Italian writers, and means beating of the foot, which ends in a founder. Sudden accidental furbating, or compreffion by the shoe, will be remedied by timely stable attention. See that Chapter.

may

affo

The FOOT-FOUNDER is an obstruction or condensation of the humours; and is either acute and from fudden accident, or the confequence of a long series of predifpofing causes, many of which have already been noticed. A fudden foot-founder may be occafioned by fuppreffed perfpiration (fee Vol. I. p. 270) or it ciate with the body-founder, or it may arife from standing conftantly tied up in a narrow ftall. It is generally in both feet either before or behind, fometimes in all four. There is great inflammation in the parts, and fwellings of the veins in the legs; and in the acute founder a fymptomatic fever attends. The acute and chronic have been formerly, and by no

means

means improperly distinguished, as the wet and dry founder. By the ftraining of the muscles of the loins, in order to favour the pained feet, some farriers have fuppofed the disease to be in the loins; however the symptoms of founder are too obvious to be mistaken. Gervafe Markham very aptly compared the fenfation of the horse from the foundered foot, to that pricking and fhooting experienced by the human animal, from obftructed blood in the foot, when faid to be asleep: but the old farriers made a dreadful miftake in gartering up the leg in this cafe, which must neceffarily increase the obftruction, and redouble the tortures of the afflicted beaft; in short, the number of fimilar instances, independently of any other confideration, ought to be an eternal bar to confiding the medical or furgical care of animals to merely mechanical hands.

In thirty years, I do not recollect to have heard a single inftance of a foot-founder cured by a farrier, nor have our Veterinarians boafted much of their fuccefs: in a chronic cafe, no poffible good could be done in the house, and it would be madness to attempt it, or rather fomething else in him who fhould undertake it for a fee. All that can be done in the stable is as follows: as foon as convenient after which, turn the horse off, for fix months at least, upon falt pastures in preference, but at

any

any rate, where shelter may be had, and where feed is not too difficult to come at, or the foundered creature may be starved either for want, or from cold: cut the toe until the blood come, and let the hoof bleed awhile; then with the drawing knife make a number of vertical incifions, through the whole foot, from under the coronet almost to the toe, nearly or quite to the quick, without even fearing to touch the cartilages; the feet may be wrapped in emollient poultices a few days, afterwards charge with tar, and powdered olibanum; or pitch and rofin.

In an acute founder, bleed; allow an opening diet, with faline phyfic, nitre, and glyfters, as in fever and molten-grease. Pare down the cruft and thin the foal. Soak the feet and legs thoroughly in warm water, in which bran has been scalded; and afterwards gently rub dry with cloths. Leave the feet all night in poultices of mealy potatoes and fcalded bran, mixed up with oil of turpentine, which may be continued three nights. My reason for advifing potatoes, is because I find they retain the heat much longer than any of the usual articles. Prepare the fotus, (with or without fpirits, or fal ammoniac) or bath for the legs and feet, recommended p. 119, in which steep them well, keeping the liquor to a constant convenient heat, full half an hour; giving the legs

VOL. II.

legs afterwards long continued gentle frictions. Stop the feet with pledgets of tow dipped in the warm mixture of turpentine, linfeed oil, and camphorated spirits; and bind the hoofs round with flannel dipped in the fame mixture. These measures must be perfevered in ftrictly three times a day, until the condensed and stagnated humours are rendered fufficiently fluid for circulation, when the overstretched veffels being disburdened of their fuperfluous contents, may be restored to their proper tone by reftringent applications. Walking exercise in the meantime will be beneficial, but it must be in a dry and warm place, and the greatest care taken that the feet be not wetted, and the horse should be led, not ridden. When the inflammation fhall have fubfided, and the proper feeling of the feet have returned, meafures directly opposite to the foregoing must be adapted. Wash the feet in urine and vinegar, first blood-warm, afterwards cold; bathe the legs with the reftringent embrocation, lead abroad daily, and prepare by degrees for the only effectual restoratives, grass, and the dew of heaven. These measures failing, recourse must be had to the operation prefcribed in the chronic cafe. The old farriers, and St. Bel after them, remarked that a foundered horse, by way of eafing the tenfion and pain in his legs and feet, would place himself upon his

back.