he other method consists in prompt establishment
of drainage by surgical means and includes exploration and curettage.

The first method is better adapted to the use of the average general
practitioner and he would do well to keep the opening in the
nonsensitive structures patent. By introducing equal parts of tincture
of iodin and glycerin daily, good results will follow in most instances.
The wound is protected in unshod horses, either by completely bandaging
the foot and retaining, in contact with the wound, cotton that is
saturated with iodin and glycerin, or, if a minor injury exists, the
moderately enlarged opening in the nonsensitive sole or frog, which has
been moistened with the antiseptic, is packed with a very small quantity
of cotton. A little practice in this mode of closing benign puncture
wounds will enable the practitioner to successfully protect the
sensitive parts in the treatment of such cases in unshod country
horses.

When the condition progresses favorably the wound may be dressed every
second day or twice weekly, and in the course of from two to six weeks
recovery should be complete.

If the practitioner is somewhat proficient as a surgeon, and has at his
command facilities for doing surgery, the second method is preferable in
many cases. By using a local anesthetic on the plantar nerves and
confining the subject on an operating table, restraint should be
perfect. The solar surface of the foot is first thoroughly cleansed, the
puncture wound is enlarged in the nonsensitive structures and the parts
are then moistened with phenol or other suitable antiseptics. By means
of a small probe the puncture is explored and, depending on the
character of the wound and the structures involved, surgical
intervention is varied to suit the case. If necessary, all of the
insensitive frog is removed, and in wounds affecting the region of the
heel the tissues may be incised from the puncture outward dividing all
of the tissues outward and backward to the surface. A suitable surgical
dressing is then applied.

If, on the other hand, the puncture extends into the navicular bursa,
the radical operation is perhaps indicated, though not until one is sure
that infection of the bursa and serious consequences are to follow if
this operation is not performed. Detailed description of the technic of
this operation belongs to the realm of surgery and a good discussion of
it is to be found in William's work on veterinary sur