41 



joint. They are produced by partial inflam- 

 mation in the bone, from, concussion upon hard 

 roads, or by blows from the opposite leg during 

 progression. This last defect is called the 

 speedy cut. 



Young horses are more subject to splents, 

 their bones not having acquired that firmness, 

 which takes place in a more advanced age. 

 The disease is more or less important, ac- 

 cording to its situation. Thus, if the splent 

 arise on that part of the bone which is un- 

 connected with any ligament or tendon, the 

 lameness is seldom of long duration ; but if it 

 arise under the ligament, or near a joint, the 

 consequences will be more serious ; because 

 the ligament will be forced out of its natural 

 direction, by the partially increased substance 

 of the bone, and the functions of the joint 

 must be interrupted also from nearly the same 

 cause. 



The lameness arising from splents generally 

 takes place during the first period of their 

 formation. Hence it frequently occurs, that 

 the animal will be lame for some time previous 

 to the enlargement of the bone. The perios- 

 teum, or thin membrane, which surrounds the 

 bone, being distended by the increased size of 

 the part underneath it, becomes highly irritable 

 and sensible of pain, when the limb is jarred 

 hy the concussion \vhich it experiences when 



