niSKASKs OF rnr. vktiock, wki.k, and foot. 401 



Lastly, knuckling i^ protliut'il by disease of the suspensory V\gn- 

 nient or of the Hexor tentlons, whereby they air shortene*!. and by 

 disease of the fethxk joints. (See p. 372.) 



Treufnu'nt. — In yonnj;: foals no treatment is necessary, unless there 

 is some deformity present, since the le<;s straighten up withotit 

 interference in the course of a few weeks, ^^'hen knuckling lias com- 

 menced, the iuiiications are to relieve the tendons and ligaments by 

 proper shoeing. The foot is to be prepared for the shoe by shorten- 

 ing the toe as much as possible, leaving the heels high; or if the foot 

 is prepai-ed in the iisual way tiic shoe shoukl be thin in front, with 

 thick he«'ls or high calks. For the hind feet a long-heeled shoe with 

 calks seems to do best. Of course, when ])ossible, the causes of knuck- 

 ling are to be removed; since this can not always l)e done, however, 

 the time may come when the patient can no longer perform any 

 service, particularly in those ca.ses in which both fore legs are 

 a fleeted, and it becomes necessary either to destroy the animal or 

 obtain relief by surgical interference. In such cases the tendons be- 

 tween the fetlock anil knee may be divided for the purpose of obtain- 

 ing temporary relief. Firing and blistering the pai'ts responsible for 

 the knuckling may. in some instjuices, efl'ect a cure: but a considera- 

 tion of these measures belongs properly to the treatment of the 

 disease in which knuckling appears simi)ly as a seipiel. 



WINDGALL. 



Joints and t^iulons iire furnished with sacs containing a lubricating 

 fl'iid called synovia. ^^ hen these sacs are overdistended by reafex)n 

 of an excessi\e secretion of syiovia, they are called windgalls. They 

 form a soft, pully tumor about the size of a hickory nut, iind are 

 most often found in the fore leg, at the upper part of the fetlock 

 joint, between the tendon and the shin bone. A\ hen they develop in 

 the hind leg it is not unusual to see them reach the si/.e of a walnut. 

 Occasionally they appear in front of the fetlock on the border of the 

 tendon. The majority of horses are not subject to tlu-m after colt- 

 hoo<l has pasx'd. (See also l>. 355.) 



CaiiAes. — Windgalls are often seen in young, oveigrown horses, 

 in which the body seems to have outgrown the ability of the joints to 

 sustain the weight. In cart and other horses used to hard work, in 

 trotters w ith exces,sive knee action, in hurtUe racers and hunters, and 

 in most cow ponies there is a predisposition to windgalls. Street-car 

 horses and otln'rs used to .start heavy loads on slippery sticfts are the 

 ones most liable to develop windgalls in the hind legs. 



Srjm.itf'itns. — Tlu' tumoi- is more or less firm and ten>e when the foot 

 is on tlie ground, but is soft and compressible when the foot is off the 

 ground. In old horses windpills generally develop slowly and cause 

 30444°— ir 20 



