356 CHAPTER 47. 



Cold water will 1)0 useful in assisting the above action foi* the first 

 twenty-four houri5 ; bitt should not be continued longer. 



The next and most essential point in treatment is rest, that is, entire 

 absence of motion in the injured part. In th»5 human subject this is 

 easily secured by putting the patient on his back in bed and affixing 

 splints on the injured leg. But in the horse the first of these ren\edies is 

 not in any degree, and the second is only partially available. 



Slings, under very careful management, are useful in giving rest to the 

 patient. They require however great care and some skill in their adjust- 

 ment, and generally need some little alteration at least once or twice a 

 day. On the one hand the ropes are apt to stretch, and on the other 

 hand the skin often becomes galled in parts from undue pressure. If the 

 patient is turned round in his stall, care must be taken to raise the 

 feeding-l)Ox to the level of his head. 



Such mishaps ought not to occur. 



It is generally recommended to reverse the horse in his stall, both to 

 prevent the chance of his rubbing or knocking his knee against the 

 manger, and also to enable the wound to be examined in good light with- 

 out disturbing him by turning round. 



Some very good horsemen, however, think all this a mistake, and that 

 the patient will be more comfortable by standing in his usual way. The 

 wound does not require much, if any, treatment. If the patient paws 

 about, of course, he must be turned round ; but such misbehaviour is not 

 common. Of course the horse must be secured against lying down, and 

 a cradle should be put round his neck so as to hinder his biting the 

 wound ; and if he is not turned round in his stall, the edge of the manger 

 should be guarded against by an old sack filled with hay. 



The bed should be made level, so that the patient may stand as easily 

 and naturally as possible. If the patient is irritable and knocks about, it 

 is as well to administer some slight doses of opium. 



As regards the actual wound, our object is to exclude the air as speedily 

 as possible from the interior of the joint. This will be best effected by 

 placing over the wound a fold of lint kept constantly wet with cold water 

 day and night, and secured lightly both above and below, but in no respect 

 approaching a bandage. The india-rubber apparatus mentioned in par. 

 265 may be used with good effect. In two or three days' time the cold 

 water dressing may be changed to white lotion, which has a slight astrin- 

 gent effect. If a more astringent action is aften\'ards desired, a powder 

 made of one ounce of sulphate of copper to a pound of flour may be 

 lightly dusted over the wound with the view of inducing coagulation of 

 the synovia round its edges and assisting in the formation of a scab, 

 which may exclude the air. The clot of synovia, which often forms on 

 the edges of the woxmd, should not be removed. The wound, however, 

 must heal as all wounds must do, from the bottom by the ordinary pro- 

 cesses of nature, that is, by outgrowth of the surrounding parts. As 

 soon as the wound is closed, the recovery is usually rapid. 



If the opening into the joint is small and the wound is not much lace- 

 rated, and if the case is treated before any inflamniation has set in, it is 



