reason that it has no arch, and the weight of the animal is received on
he entire plantar surface, as it rests upon the ground instead of on the
wall. For these reasons such feet are particularly liable to bruises of
the sole, corns, pumiced sole, and excessive suppuration when the
process is once established. Horses with flatfoot should be shod with a
shoe having a wide web, pressing on the wall only, while the heels and
frog are never to be pared. Flatfoot generally has weak walls, and as a
consequence the nails of the shoe are readily loosened and the shoe
cast.
_Clubfoot_ is a term applied to such feet as have the walls set nearly
perpendicular. When this condition is present the heels are high, the
fetlock joint is thrown forward, or knuckles, and the weight of the
animal is received on the toes. Many mules are clubfooted, especially
behind, where it seems to cause little or no inconvenience. Severe cases
of clubfoot may be cured by cutting the tendons, but as a rule special
shoeing is the only measure of relief that can be adopted. The toe
should not be pared, but the heels are to be lowered as much as
possible and a shoe put on with a long, projecting toe piece, slightly
turned up, while the heels of the shoe are to be made thin.
_Crookedfoot_ is that condition in which one side of the wall is higher
than the other. If the inside wall is the higher, the ankle is thrown
outward, so that the fetlock joints are abnormally wide apart and the
toes close together. Animals with this deformity are "pigeon-toed," and
are prone to interfere, the inside toe striking the opposite fetlock. If
but one foot is affected, the liability to interfere is still greater,
for the reason that the fetlock of the perfect leg is nearer the center
plane.
When the outside heel is the higher the ankle is thrown in and the toe
turns out. Horses with such feet interfere with the heel. If but one
foot is so affected, the liability to interfere is less than when both
feet are affected, for the reason that the ankle of the perfect leg is
not so near to the center plane. Such animals are especially liable to
stumbling and to lameness from injury to the ligaments of the fetlock
joints. This deformity is to be overcome by such shoeing as will
equalize the disparity in length of walls, and by proper boots to
protect the fetlocks from interfering.
INTERFERING.
An animal is said to interfere when one foot strikes the opposite leg,
as it passes by, during locomotion. The inner surface of the fetlock
joint is the part most subject to this injury, although, under certain
conditions, it may happen to any part of the ankle. It is seen more
often in the hind than in the fore legs. Interfering causes a bruise of
the skin and deeper tissues, generally accompanied with an abrasion of
the surface. It may cause lameness, dangerous tripping, and thickening
of the injured parts. (See also p. 387.)
_Causes._--Faulty conformation is the most prolific cause of
interfering. When the bones of the leg are so united that the toe of the
foot turns in (pigeon-toed), or when the fetlock joints are close
together and the toe turns out, when the leg is so deformed that the
whole foot and ankle turn either in or out, interfering is almost sure
to follow. It may happen, also, when the feet grow too long, from
defective shoeing, rough or slippery roads, from the exhaustion of labor
or sickness, swelling of the leg, high knee action, fast work, and
because the chest or hips are too narrow.
_Symptoms._--Generally, the evidences of interfering are easily
detected, for the parts are tender, swollen, and the skin broken. But
very often, especially in trotters, the flat surface of the hoof strikes
the fetlock without evident injury, and attention is directed to these
parts only by the occasional tripping and unsteady gait. In such cases
proof of the cause may be had by walking and trotting the animal, after
first painting the inside toe and quarter of the suspected foot with a
thin coating of chalk, charcoal, mud, or paint.
_Treatment._--When the trouble is due to deformity or faulty
conformation it may not be possible to overcome the defect.
In such cases, and as well in those due to exhaustion or fatigue, the
fetlock or ankle boot must be used. In many instances interfering may be
prevented by proper shoeing. The outside heel and quarter of the foot on
the injured leg should be lowered sufficiently to change the relative
position of the fetlock joint by bringing it farther away from the
center plane of the body, thereby permitting the other foot to pass by
without striking.
A very slight change is often sufficient to effect this result. At the
same time the offending foot should be so shod that the shoe may set
well under the hoof at the point responsible for the injury. The shoe
should be reset every three or four weeks.
When the cause has been removed, cold-water bandages to the injured
parts will soon remove the soreness and swelling, especially in recent
cases. If, however, the fetlock has become calloused from long-continued
bruising, a Spanish-fly blister over the parts, repeated in two or three
weeks if necessary, will aid in reducing the leg to its natural
condition.
KNUCKLING, OR COCKED ANKLES.
Knuckling is a partial dislocation of the fetlock joint, in which the
relative position of the pastern bone to the cannon and coronet bones is
changed, the pastern becoming more nearly perpendicular, with the lower
end of the cannon bone resting behind the center line of the large
pastern, while the lower end of this bone rests behind the center line
of the coronet. While knuckling is not always an unsoundness, it
nevertheless predisposes to stumbling and to fracture of the pastern.
_Causes._--Young foals are quite subject to this condition, but in the
great majority of cases it is only temporary. It is largely due to the
fact that before birth the legs were flexed, and time is required after
birth for the ligaments, tendons, and muscles to adapt themselves to the
function of sustaining the weight of the body.
As they grow old, horses with erect pasterns are very prone to knuckle,
especially in the hind legs. All kinds of heavy work, particularly in
hilly districts, and fast work on hard race tracks or roads are exciting
causes of knuckling. It is also commonly seen as an accompaniment of
that faulty conformation called clubfoot, in which the toe of the wall
is perpendicular and short, and the heels high--a condition most often
seen in the mule, especially in the hind feet.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXII.
ANATOMY OF FOOT.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIII.
ANATOMY OF FOOT.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIV.
ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE FOOT.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXV.
SOUND AND CONTRACTED FEET.]
Lastly, knuckling is produced by disease of the suspensory ligament or
of the flexor tendons, whereby they are shortened, and by disease of the
fetlock joints. (See p. 372.)
_Treatment._--In young foals no treatment is necessary, unless there is
some deformity present, since the legs straighten up without
interference in the course of a few weeks. When knuckling has commenced,
the indications are to relieve the tendons and ligaments by proper
shoeing. The foot is to be prepared for the shoe by shortening the toe
as much as possible, leaving the heels high; or if the foot is prepared
in the usual way the shoe should be thin in front, with thick heels or
high calks. For the hind feet a long-heeled shoe with calks seems to do
best. Of course, when possible, the causes of knuckling are to be
removed; since this can not always be done, however, the time may come
when the patient can no longer perform any service, particularly in
those cases in which both fore legs are affected, and it becomes
necessary either to destroy the animal or obtain relief by surgical
interference. In such cases the tendons between the fetlock and knee may
be divided for the purpose of obtaining temporary relief. Firing and
blistering the parts responsible for the knuckling may, in some
instances, effect a cure; but a consideration of these measures belongs
properly to the treatment of the disease in which knuckling appears
simply as a sequel.
WINDGALL.
Joints and tendons are furnished with sacs containing a lubricating
fluid called synovia. When these sacs are overdistended by reason of an
excessive secretion of synovia, they are called windgalls. They form a
soft, puffy tumor about the size of a hickory nut, and are most often
found in the fore leg, at the upper part of the fetlock joint, between
the tendon and the shin bone. When they develop in the hind leg it is
not unusual to see them reach the size of a walnut. Occasionally they
appear in front of the fetlock on the border of the tendon. The majority
of horses are not subject to them after colt-hood has passed. (See also
p. 355.)
_Causes._--Windgalls are often seen in young, overgrown horses, in which
the body seems to have outgrown the ability of the joints to sustain the
weight. In cart and other horses used to hard work, in trotters with
excessive knee action, in hurdle racers and hunters, and in most cow
ponies there is a predisposition to windgalls. Street-car horses and
others used to start heavy loads on slippery streets are the ones most
liable to develop windgalls in the hind legs.
_Symptoms._--The tumor is more or less firm and tense when the foot is
on the ground, but is soft and compressible when the foot is off the
ground. In old horses windgalls generally develop slowly and cause no
inconvenience. If they are caused by excessive tension of the joint the
tumor develops rapidly, is tense, hot, and painful, and the animal is
exceedingly lame. The patient stands with the joint flexed, and walks
with short steps, the toe only being placed on the ground. When the
tumor is large and situated upon the inside of the leg it may be injured
by interfering, causing stumbling and inflammation of the sac. Rest
generally causes the tumor to diminish in size, only to fill up again
after renewed labor. In old cases the tumors are hardened, and may
become converted into bone by a deposit of the lime salts.
_Treatment._--The large, puffy joints of suckling colts, as a rule,
require no treatment, for as the animal grows older the parts clean up
and after a time the swelling entirely disappears.
When the trouble is from an injury, complete rest is to be obtained by
the use of slings and a high-heeled shoe. Cold-water douches should be
used once or twice a day, followed by cold-water bandages, until the
fever has subsided and the soreness is largely removed, when a blister
is to be applied.
In old windgalls, which cause more or less stiffness, some relief may be
had by the use of cold-compress bandages, elastic boots, or the red
iodid of mercury blisters. Opening the sacs, as recommended by some
authors, is of doubtful utility, and should be adopted only by the
surgeon capable of treating the wound he has made. Enforced rest until
complete recovery is effected should always be insisted upon, since a
too early return to work is sure to be followed by relapse.
SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK.
Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and, as a
rule, affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast work, as trotters,
runners, steeplechasers, hunters, cow ponies, and those that interfere,
are particularly liable to this injury.
_Causes._--Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with diseases
which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular disease,
contracted heels, sidebones, chronic laminitis, etc., are predisposed to
sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a misstep, stumbling,
or slipping, which results in the joint being extended or flexed to
excess. The same result may happen where the foot is caught in a rut, a
hole in a bridge, or in a car track, and the animal falls or struggles
violently. Direct blows and punctured wounds may also set up
inflammation of the joint.
_Symptoms._--The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with the
severity of the injury. If slight, there may be no lameness, but simply
a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground and
the joint is twisted a little. In more severe cases the joint swells, is
hot and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the
animal to hobble on three legs. While at rest the leg is flexed at the
joint affected, and the toe rests on the ground.
_Treatment._--If the injury is slight, cold-water bandages and a few
days' rest are sufficient to effect recovery. When there is an intense
lameness, swelling, etc., the leg should be placed under a constant
stream of cold water, as described in the treatment for quittor. When
the inflammation has subsided, a blister to the joint should be applied.
In some cases, especially in old horses long accustomed to fast work,
the ligaments of the joints are ruptured, in whole or in part, and the
lameness may last a long time. In these cases the joint should be kept
completely at rest; this condition is best obtained by the application
of plaster of Paris bandages, as in cases of fracture. As a rule,
patients take kindly to this bandage, and, while wearing it, may be
given the freedom of a roomy box or yard. If they are disposed to tear
it off, or if sufficient rest can not otherwise be obtained, the patient
must be kept in slings.
In the majority of instances the plaster bandage should remain on from
two to four weeks. If the lameness returns when the bandage is removed,
a new one should be put on. The swellings which always remains after the
other evidences of the disease have disappeared, may be largely
dissipated and the joint strengthened by the rise of the firing iron and
blisters.
A joint once injured by a severe sprain never entirely regains its
original strength, and is ever after particularly liable to a repetition
of the injury.
RUPTURE OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT.
Sprain with or without rupture of the suspensory ligament may happen in
either the fore or hind legs, and is occasionally seen in horses of all
classes and at all ages. Old animals, however, and especially hunters,
runners, and trotters, are the most subject to this injury, and with
them the seat of the trouble is nearly always in one or both the fore
legs. Horses used for heavy draft are more liable to have the ligament
of the hind legs affected.
When the strain upon the suspensory ligament becomes too great, one or
both of the branches may be torn from the sesamoid bones, one or both of
the branches may be torn completely across, or the ligament may rupture
above the point of division.
_Symptoms._--The most common injury to the suspensory ligament is sprain
of the internal branch in one of the fore legs. The trouble is indicated
by lameness, heat, swelling, and tenderness of the affected branch,
beginning just above the sesamoid bone and extending obliquely downward
and forward to the front of the ankle. If the whole ligament is
involved, the swelling comes on gradually, and is found above the
fetlock and in front of the flexor tendons. The patient stands or walks
upon the toe as much as possible, keeping the fetlock joint flexed so as
to relieve the ligament of tension.
When both branches are torn from their attachments to the sesamoids, or
both are torn across, the lameness comes on suddenly and is most
intense; the fetlock descends, the toe turns up, and, as the animal
attempts to walk, the leg has the appearance of being broken off at the
fetlock. These symptoms, followed by heat, pain, and swelling of the
parts at the point of injury, will enable anyone to make a diagnosis.
_Treatment._--Sprain of the suspensory ligament, no matter how mild it
may be, should always be treated by enforced rest of at least a month,
and the application of cold douches and cold-water bandages, firmly
applied until the fever has subsided, when a cantharides blister should
be put on and repeated in two or three weeks if necessary. When rupture
has taken place the patient should be put into slings and a constant
stream of cold water allowed to trickle over the seat of injury until
the fever is reduced. In the course of a week or ten days a plaster of
Paris splint, such as is used in fractures, is to be applied and left on
for a month or six weeks. When this is taken off, blisters may be used
to remove the remaining soreness; but it is useless to expect a removal
of all the thickening, for, in the process of repair, new tissue has
been formed which will always remain.
In old cases of sprain the firing iron may often be used with good
results. As a rule, severe injuries to the suspensory ligament
incapacitate the subject for anything but slow, light work.
OVERREACH.
When the shoe of the hind foot strikes and injures the heel or quarter
of the forefoot the horse is said to overreach. It rarely happens except
when the animal is going fast; hence is most common in trotting and
running horses. In trotters the accident generally happens when the
animal breaks from a trot to a run. The outside heels and quarters are
most liable to the injury.
_Symptoms._--The coronet at the heel or quarter is bruised or cut, the
injury in some instances involving the horn as well. When the hind foot
strikes well back on the heel of the fore foot--an accident known among
horsemen as "grabbing"--the shoe may be torn from the forefoot or the
animal may fall to its knees. Horses accustomed to overreaching are
often "bad breakers," for the reason that the pain of the injury so
excites them that they can not readily be brought back to the trotting
gait.
_Treatment._--If the injury is but a slight bruise, cold-water bandages
applied for a few days will remove all the soreness. If the parts are
deeply cut, more or less suppuration will follow, and, as a rule, it is
well to poultice the parts for a day or two, after which cold baths may
be used, or the wounds dressed with tincture of aloes, oakum, and a
roller bandage.
When an animal is known to be subject to overreaching, he should never
be driven fast without quarter boots, which are specially made for the
protection of the heels and quarters.
If there is a disposition to "grab" the forward shoes, the trouble may
be remedied by having the heels of these shoes made as short as
possible, while the toe of the hind foot should project well over the
shoe. When circumstances permit of their use, the fore feet may be shod
with the "tips" instead of the common shoe, as described in treatment
for contracted heels.
CALK WOUNDS.
Horses wearing shoes with sharp calks are liable to wounds of the
coronary region, either from trampling on themselves or on each other.
These injuries are most common in heavy draft horses, especially on
rough roads and slippery streets. The fore feet are more liable than the
hind ones, and the seat of injury is commonly on the quarters. In the
hind feet the wound often results from the animal resting with the heel
of one foot set directly over the front of the other. In these cases the
injury is generally close to the horn, and often involves the coronary
band, the sensitive laminae, the extensor tendon, and even the coffin
bone.
_Treatment._--Preventive measures include the use of boots to protect
the coronet of the hind foot and of a blunt calk on the outside heel of
the fore shoe, since this is generally the offending instrument when the
fore feet are injured. If the wound is not deep and the soreness slight,
cold-water bandages and a light protective dressing, such as carbolized
cosmoline, will be all that is needed. When the injury is deep, followed
by inflammation and suppuration of the coronary band, lateral
cartilages, sensitive laminae, etc., active measures must be resorted to.
Cold, astringent baths, made by adding 2 ounces of sulphate of iron to 1
gallon of water, should be used, followed by poultices, if it is
necessary to hasten the cleansing of the wound by stimulating the
sloughing process. If the wound is deep between the horn and the skin,
especially over the anterior tendon, the horn should be cut away so that
the injured tissues may be exposed. The subsequent treatment in these
cases should follow the directions given in the article on toe cracks.
FROSTBITES.
Excepting the ears, the feet and legs are about the only parts of the
horse liable to become frostbitten. The cases most commonly seen are
found in cities, especially among car horses, where salt is used for the
purpose of melting the snow on curves and switches. This mixture of
snow and salt is splashed over the feet and legs, rapidly lowering the
temperature of the parts to the freezing point. In mountainous
districts, where the snowfall is heavy and the cold often intense,
frostbites are not uncommon, even among animals running at large.
_Symptoms._--When the frosting is slight the skin becomes pale and
bloodless, followed soon after by intense redness, heat, pain, and
swelling. In these cases the hair may fall out and the epidermis peel
off, but the inflammation soon subsides, the swelling disappears, and
only an increased sensitiveness to cold remains.
In more severe cases irregular patches of skin are destroyed and after a
few days slough away, leaving slow-healing ulcers behind. If produced by
low temperatures and deep snow, the coronary band is the part most often
affected.
In many instances there is no destruction of the skin, but simply a
temporary suspension of the horn-producing function of the coronary
band. The fore feet are more often affected than the hind ones, and the
heels and quarters are less often involved than the front part of the
foot. The coronary band becomes hot, swollen, and painful, and after two
or three days the horn separates from the band and slight suppuration
follows. For a few days the animal is lame, but as the suppuration
disappears the lameness subsides. New horn, often of an inferior
quality, is produced by the coronary band, and in time the cleft is
grown off and complete recovery is effected. The frog is occasionally
frostbitten and may slough off, exposing the soft tissues beneath and
causing severe lameness for a time.
_Treatment._--Simple frostbites are best treated by cold fomentations
followed by applications of a 5 per cent solution of carbolized oil.
When portions of the skin are destroyed, their early separation should
be hastened by warm fomentations and poultices. Ulcers are to be treated
by the application of stimulating dressings, such as carbolized oil, a 1
per cent solution of nitrate of silver or of chlorid of zinc, with pads
of oakum and flannel bandages. In many of these cases recovery is
exceedingly slow. The new tissue by which the destroyed skin is replaced
always shrinks in healing, and, as a consequence, unsightly scars are
unavoidable. When the coronary band is involved it is generally
advisable to blister the coronet over the seat of injury as soon as the
suppuration ceases, for the purpose of stimulating the growth of new
horn. Where a crevasse is formed between the old and the new horn no
serious trouble is liable to be met with until the cleft is nearly grown
out, when the soft tissues may be exposed by a breaking off of the
partly detached horn. But even if this accident happens final recovery
is effected by poulticing the foot until a sufficient growth of horn
protects the parts from injury.
QUITTOR.
Quittor is a term applied to various affections of the foot wherein the
tissues which are involved undergo a process of degeneration that
results in the formation of a slough followed by the elimination of the
diseased structures by means of a more or less extensive suppuration.
For convenience of consideration quittors may be divided into four
classes, as suggested by Girard: (1) Cutaneous quittor, which is known
also as simple quittor, skin quittor, and carbuncle of the coronet; (2)
tendinous quittor; (3) subhorny quittor; and (4) cartilaginous quittor.
CUTANEOUS QUITTOR.
Simple quittor consists in a local inflammation of the skin and
subcutaneous connective tissue on some part of the coronet, followed by
a slough and the formation of an ulcer which heals by suppuration.