Common Diseases of the Horse i 89 



ration which is very much to be preferred is performed 



• manner to that described under Sidebone. 



eration is performed on one or both sides according to 



:tion ; two grooves should be made, one at the quarter 



( about the middle of the heel, severing the horn from 



■ry band to the sole. The latter need not be separated 



wall as in the operation for sidebone. By this means 



is allowed to take place at the contracted side of the 



he pressure is reduced. With antiseptic precautions the 



ill heal in a few days, after which a blister may be applied 



ir shoe put on. In many cases, after operation, the horse 



.ik quite sound in about a week or ten days and be fit for 



vvork. 



The foot will then grow down quite sound, and when the grooves 



.lave grown out all trace of the operation will have disappeared. 



Shelly or shaley feet, in which the horn is of a brittle nature, or 

 over-thin, may be greatly improved by applying blisters round the 

 coronet, and afterwards rubbing castor oil well in daily. The wall 

 may also be treated similarly with the oil. A leather sole covered 

 with tow well dressed with Stockholm tar will greatly benefit the 

 horny sole and frog. 



Splint 



The fore and hind limbs, from the knee and hock down to 

 the fetlocks, are each composed of three bones, one large, long, 

 partially round bone known as the cannon or shank bone, and 

 two smaller bones situated behind on each side of it and separated 

 from the large bone by ligamentous structures. All three bones 

 articulate with those of the knee and hock and so take their 

 part in bearing the weight of the body, 



A splint may be described as a deposit of bone on any part 

 of those three bones. It is the result of inflammation of the 

 bone itself or of the membrane covering it. 



Several varieties of splint are known. One is a simple deposit 

 of bone between the small and large bone, or on the large bone 

 itself Three or four knobs occurring between the large and 

 small bones are known as a " chain " splint. One small knob 

 on the inside and another on the outside is called a " peg " 

 splint; sometimes a small bony bar connects these at the back 

 of the bone — a " fusee " splint. The last three forms are gener- 

 ally small knobs about the size of a pea, but occasionally com- 

 paratively large deposits of bone occur, which are up to the 

 size of a hazel nut and can readily be seen by looking at the leg. 



