402 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



no inconvenience. If they are caused by excessive tension of the joint 

 the tumor develops rapidly, is tense, hot, and painful, and the animal 

 is exceedingly lame. The patient stands with the joint flexed, and 

 walks with short steps, the toe only being placed on the ground. 

 When the tumor is large and situated upon the inside of the leg it 

 may be injured by interfering, causing stumbling and inflammation 

 of the sac. Rest generally causes the tumor to diminish in size, only 

 to fill up again after renewed labor. In old cases the tumors are 

 hardened, and may become converted into bone by a deposit of the 

 lime salts. 



Treatment. — The large, puff'y joints of suckling colts, as a rule, 

 re({uire no treatment, for as the animal grows older the parts clean 

 up and after a time the swelling entirely disappears. 



^^Iien the trouble is from an injury, complete rest is to be obtained 

 by the use of slings and u high-heeled shoe. Cold-water douches 

 should be used once or twice a day, followed by cold-water bandages, 

 until the fever has subsided and the soreness is largely removed, 

 when a blister is to be applied. 



In old windgalls, which cause more or less stiffness, some relief 



may be had by the use of cold-compress bandages, elastic boots, or the 



red iodid of mercury blisters. Opening the sacs, as recommended 



by some authors, is of doubtful utility, and should be adopted only 



by the surgeon capable of treating the w^ound he has made. Enforced 



rest until complete recovery is effected should always be insisted 



upon, since a too early return to work is sure to be followed by 



relapse. 



SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK. 



Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and, as 

 a rule, affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast work, as trotters, 

 runners, steeplechasers, hunters, cow ponies, and those that inter- 

 fere, are particularly liable to this injury. 



Causes. — Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with dis- 

 eases which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular dis- 

 ease, contracted heels, sidebones, chronic laminitis, etc., are predis- 

 posed to sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a mis- 

 step, stumbling, or slipping, Avhich results in the joint being extended 

 or flexed to excess-. The same result may happen where the foot is 

 caught in a rut, a hole in a bridge, or in a car track, and the animal 

 falls or struggles violently. Direct blows and punctured wounds 

 may also set up inflammation of the joint. 



SynvptOTTis. — The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vaiy w^ith the 

 severity of the injury. If slight, there may be no lameness, but simply 

 a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground 

 and the joint is twisted a little. In more severe cases the joint swells, 

 is hot and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the 



