Diseases of the Horse's FootReeks, H. Caulton (Harry Caulton)
Science
Diseases of the Horse's Foot
Reeks, H. Caulton (Harry Caulton)
Hoofs -- Diseases; Horses -- Diseases
This gentleman had a large Clydesdale horse under his care for a bad
sand-crack in front of the near hind-foot, and, as the lameness
was extreme, he adopted his usual method of treatment--viz., rest,
fomentations, poulticing, and the making of the V-shaped section through
the wall, and subsequently the application of an appropriate bar shoe
to the foot, and repeated blisters to the coronet. In a short time the
lameness passed off, and the horse was put to work. A few days later the
animal met with an accident, and was killed.
On examining a section of the hoof it was found that a vertical horny ridge
corresponding to the external fissure had been formed on the internal
surface of the wall, and that a well-marked cicatrix extended upwards
through the structure of the hoof at the part forming the cutigeral groove;
furthermore, _a similar ingrowth had been taking place in the line of the
oblique incisions made for the relief of the sand-crack_.
This case has an important bearing on the operation of grooving the wall,
which operation we have several times in this work advocated for the relief
of other diseases. It teaches us that the incisions should not be carried
so completely through the horn as to interfere with and irritate the
sensitive laminæ, and so set up the chronic inflammatory condition leading
to hypertrophy of the horn.
From the position on the os pedis of the indentation made in it by the
keraphyllocele (see Fig. 133) it has been argued that pressure of the
toe-clip is a cause of the new growth. This, we should say, cannot be a
very strong factor in the causation, for, while we admit that the continual
pressure of the clip, and the heavy hammering that sometimes fits it into
position, is likely to set up a chronic inflammatory condition of the
sensitive laminæ in that region, we must still point out that the rarity
of keraphyllocele, as compared with the fact that clips are on every shoe,
does not allow of the argument carrying any great weight.
_Symptoms_.--Except under certain conditions this defect is difficult
of detection. As a rule, lameness is not produced by it. In making that
statement we are led largely by the conclusion arrived at by Professor
Walley. This observer noted the fact that ingrowths of horn such as we are
describing nearly always take place in false quarter, or after a sand-crack
has been repaired, and that they commonly occur after the operation of
grooving the wall in the manner we have just shown.
Now, we know that quite often under these circumstances the horse goes
perfectly sound. Thus, while we know that in all probability keraphyllocele
is in existence, we have ocular demonstration that the animal is quite
unaffected by it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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