Expansion of the horny box is thus brought about, while at the same time the semicircular groove at the toe is made deep enough to allow of the escape of the exudate.

If thought wise by the operator, the two pieces of horn a and b may be isolated, and the exudate given exit by making the fourth groove in the position of the dotted lines in Fig. 120—­that is to say, at the lowermost portion of the sensitive structures.  By this means the sole will be left intact.

[Illustration:  FIG. 121.—­LOWER SURFACE OF FOOT SHOWING POSITION OF THE GROOVES MADE IN THE TREATMENT OF LAMINITIS.]

Fuller instruction for making the grooves and the instruments required will be found described in Section C of Chapter X.

The animal should be afterwards shod, and the bearing on the portions a and b of the wall removed.  Almost immediate relief is afforded the patient.

Recorded Cases.—­1.  ’On the evening of September 28 last, I was called rather hurriedly to attend a posting-horse which had just arrived from a twenty-one miles’ journey, and was said to be “very ill.”  I lost no time in proceeding to the spot, and found my patient “very ill” indeed.  No need for long consideration as to diagnosis; the symptoms showed at once that I had an uncommonly severe case of acute founder before me.  On examination I found the pulse was 120, the respirations 100, and the thermometer 106 deg.  F. The poor brute could not move, the fore-legs were well out before, and the hind-legs thrown back behind; in fact, he was, as one might say, propping himself up with his four legs!

’On examining his feet, I discovered what I had never either seen or heard of before—­namely, blood freely oozing out at the coronet of all four feet; if anything, the hind-feet were the worst, and, showing that this bloody discharge at coronets had commenced during progression and before he was stabled, the inside of the thighs were all shotted over with blood, which had been thrown up by his feet while he was trotting or walking.  He was completely soaked all over with perspiration.

’My prognosis could not well be otherwise than unsatisfactory.  I resolved, however, to do all I could to relieve the poor suffering brute.  As a matter of course, jugular phlebotomy was utterly impracticable; so, to relieve the pressure in the feet, I had him (after, with extreme difficulty, removing the shoes) bled, or rather opened, at all four toes, and hot poultices applied.  On opening the off-side toe, in both hind and fore feet, I found an escape of very dark-coloured blood, with a great many bubbles of gas, thus showing that the destructive process was fairly established in the two bony extremities mentioned.  The near fore and near hind feet showed no signs of gas-bubbles on being opened at the toe.