change of temperature by appropriate clothing. If it can be
avoided, horses that are working should never be driven or ridden
through water. If unavoidable, they should be cooled off before passing
through, and then kept moving until completely dried. The same care is
to be practiced with washing the legs in cold water when just in from
work, for occasionally it proves to be the cause of a most acute attack
of this disease. Unusual changes in the manner of applying the shoes
should not be hastily made. If a plane shoe has been worn, high heels or
toes must not be substituted at once; but the change, if necessary,
should gradually be made, so that the different tissues may adapt
themselves to the altered conditions. If radical changes are imperative,
as is sometimes the case, the work must be so reduced in quantity and
quality that it can not excite the disease.

Laminitis from the effects of purgatives can scarcely be guarded
against. I can not determine from the cases in which I have seen this
result that there are any conditions present that would warn us of
danger. The trouble does not seem to depend upon the size of the
purgative, the length of time before purgation begins, or the activity
and severity with which the remedy acts. Medicines known to have
unusually irritating effects on the alimentary canal should be used only
when necessity demands it, and then in moderate doses.

Experience alone will determine what animals are liable to suffer from
this disease through the use of feeds. When an attack can be ascribed to
any particular feed it should be withheld, unless in small quantities.
Horses that have never been fed upon Indian corn should receive but a
little of it at a time, mixed with bran, oats, or other feed, until it
has been determined that no danger exists. Corn is less safe in warm
than in cold weather, and for this reason it should always be fed with
caution during spring and summer months.

When an animal is excessively lame in one foot the shoe of the opposite
member should be removed, and cold water frequently applied to the well
foot. At the same time, if the subject remains standing, the slings
should be used. Horses should under no circumstances be overworked; to
guard against this, previous work, nature of roads, state of weather,
and various other influences must be carefully considered. Watering
while warm is a pernicious habit, and, unless the animal is accustomed
to it, is liable to resu