S April, 1907] Lameness hi Horses. 



LAMENEHS L\ HORSP]S. 



5. S. Cameron. M .R.C.V.S., Chief Ycteriiiarv Oificer. 



Definition and Descrijition. Habit lameness. Keflex lameness. Detection 



•during rest, during movement, lameness in front, lameness behind, cross lameness. 

 Diagnosis of obscure lameness — local anaesthesia. Shoulder lameness — shoulder 

 slip, sprain of the flexor brachii or biceps muscle, shoulder joint injury. Elbow- 

 lameness. Capped elbow. Knee lameness — sprain of superior check ligament, 

 thorough-pin of knee, speedy cutting, spavin of the knee, capped knee, broken knees. 

 Sprain of the " back tendons "" — the inferior check ligament, the tendons of the 

 flexor muscles, the superior sesamoidean or .suspensory ligament. Splints. Sore 

 shins. Fetlock lameness — arthritis, sesamoiditis. Wind galls. Knuckling over. 

 Pastern lameness — sprain of the inferior sesamoidean or suspensory ligament, break- 

 down, split pastern, ringbone. Foot lameness — sidebone, corns, laminitis or founder, 

 villitis, navicular disease. Lameness in the Loins — sprain of the lumbar muscles, 

 sprain of the psoas muscles. Hip lameness — sprain of the gluteal muscles, hip 

 joint injury, fracture of the pelvic bones. Stifle lameness — dislocation of the 

 patella. Lameness in the gaskin. Hock lameness — thorough-pin, bog spavin, 

 blood spavin, bone spavin, curb. Contracted tendons and knuckling over. Rheu- 

 matic lameness. Shivering. Strin'dialt. Internal lameness. 



DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION. 



Lameness (A. S. lem or Iama = \\e?i\i) may be understood to be imperfec- 

 tion of action of a limb or part. It is not in itself a disease but is a 

 sign, manifestation or expression of pain, weakness or inability in one or 

 more limbs or parts concerned in locomotion. It is usualh- a sign of 

 disease but is not necessarily so, for lameness may exist for some short 

 time from the pressure of a stone on the frog or from a tight-fitting shoe 

 or from a nail driven, too close to the " rjuick," simply as the result of 

 pain alone without disease. It may be also that lameness while result- 

 ing from disea.se is not indicative of pain, as in the case of anchylosis 

 (welding together of the bones) of the hork joint, in which case there is 

 marked lameness from stiffness or inabilit\ to flex the joint, but no pain. 

 Conversely in some cases of stiff joint there may be extensive disease but 

 no pain or lameness ; this occurs in connexion with joints in which there is 

 ordinarily not much flexion — for example, the lower pastern joint when 

 affected with a "set " ringbone. Again, while it may be generally taken 

 for granted that lameness is a sign of pain or disease or both, this is 

 not always the case ; for instance, a stone may become wedged between the 

 frog and the shoe and cause imperfection of action, not because it must 

 necessarily give rise to paim, but because the thickness of the stone raises 

 the foot above its fellow, and makes the horse limp. Here it may he 

 well to intimate that lameness, whether arising from disease or not. or 

 whether caused bv pain or not. is regarded legally as umsoundness. 



Habit Lameness. 



Peculiarity or habit of gait must not be confounded with lameness. A 

 horse, especially a youngster, when trotted and held short bv the head 

 on the near side will move with a "left-shoulder-in " kind of action, and 

 on account of more weight being thrown on the side to which the head is 



