296 CHAPTER 36. 



each other and from irritating or lacerating the adjoining parts ; and in 

 such cases there may be no serious amount of swelling to interfere with 

 the due and continued apposition of the parts and the commencement of 

 the process of healing or union. 



When the bones are thus adjusted, the next thing, if possible, is to 

 keep them in their places. This is often a very difficult matter, and 

 needs expertness and ingenuity. Splints padded with tow and bandages 

 and strips of adhesive plaster may be used, and in some cases the horse 

 may be slung with the view of taking the weight off the part affected. 



The starch bandage is a very useful application. It is formed by 

 soaking in thick starch mucilage strips of linen, which may be placed one 

 over the other in layers, as each dries, until a firm splint is formed. 

 Additional support may be given by a well-adjusted wooden splint outside 

 all. Pads of fine tow will be found useful in preventing undue pressure 

 on particular parts. 



Before applying the starch bandage the part should be oiled, and then 

 a piece of tape should be placed longitudinally over the fracture. The 

 end of the tape should be left hanging out, so that if excessive swelling 

 of the limb takes place, the bandage may be ripped open and taken off 

 and dipped in warm water and then reapplied without losing its shape or 

 " mould." Great ease and relief will in such cases be given to the patient 

 by this change. Longitudinal slits in the bandage will also be found to 

 give ease. 



Plaster of Paris makes an excellent mould and support in cases of 

 fractured pastern-bones in which great displacement does not exist. 



It must be borne in mind that it is not merely a support, but an easy 

 support, which is required. Pressure cannot be borne. Inflammation, 

 but not repair, will follow on uneasiness ; and then the patient will be 

 rendered irritable, and by his movements will certainly frustrate all our 

 efforts at cure. 



When the parts are much swollen and tender, any undue inflammatory 

 action must, as a preliminary step, be reduced by warm fomentations, as 

 far as possible ; or where the mischief is circumscribed or almost super- 

 ficial, by wet cloths kept constantly moist with cold water or refrigerant 

 lotion. 



But practically, except as regards the facial bones, cases, which require 

 such means, cannot as a rule be successfully treated, and the horse may 

 as well be destroyed at once. Generally after all our efforts, and just 

 when we think the case is going on favorably, the horse will by some 

 sudden and unexpected movement cause the fractured ends again to 

 separate. 



In compound fractures, i. e. where the skin is broken and the bone 

 protrudes, and in all comminuted fractures the case is hopeless at least 

 as regards the horse becoming sound in his action. Facial injuries are, 

 of course, an exception. 



Omitting, for the reasons given above, such cases as broken leg or back, 

 we now pass on to the detail of the treatment of those fractures, which 

 under favorable circumstances offer a fair chance of recovery. 



