6 4 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



is said to have " ricked his back," in the 

 language of the stable, and if the mis- 

 chief is confined to the muscles alone, he 

 may generally be permanently cured, 

 though he will be more liable to a return 

 than an animal which has never suffered 

 from any accident of the kind. If, how- 

 ever, the spinal cord is injured, either 

 from fracture of the vertebrae, or from 

 effusion of blood or serum pressing upon 

 it, the case is different, and a perfect 

 cure is seldom obtained. It is, however, 

 very difficult to form a correct diagnosis 

 between the one case and the other, and 

 the treatment may generally be conduct- 

 ed with the hope that the more important 

 organ is uninjured. When there is com- 

 plete palsy of the hind extremities, so 

 that the horse can neither feel nor use 

 them in the slightest degree, the case is 

 hopeless. (See Diseases of the Ner- 

 vous System.) For the management of 

 the strain of the loins, a full bleeding should 

 be adopted, as it generally happens that 

 the horse is plethoric and full of corn. 

 Then apply a double fold of thick flannel 

 or serge, dipped in warm water, to the 

 whole surface of the loins, cover this 

 over with a layer of India rubber sheet- 

 ing, and let it remain on, taking care to 

 renew the water if it has become dry. It 

 generally produces a copious sweating 

 from the part, followed by a slight irrita- 

 tion of the skin, both of which afford re- 

 lief. In three or four days the flannel 

 may be removed, and the embrocation 

 alluded to above rubbed in two or three 

 times a day, which will generally relieve 

 the muscles so much that at the end of 

 a week or ten days the horse is able to 

 move quietly about in a loose box, and 

 the cure may be left to time, aided by a 

 charge on the back. 



HORSE, Shoulder, Strain of the. — 

 Shoulder strain was formerly very often 

 chosen as the seat of lameness in the 

 fore extremity, solely because the case is 

 so obscure that it is beyond the knowl- 

 edge of the unskillful examiner. Nev- 

 ertheless, it is by no means so uncommon 

 as is supposed by some writers, and per- 

 haps it may be asserted that it is now 

 more frequently passed over when it 

 really exists, than the reverse. It gen- 

 erally is seated in the serratus magnus, or 

 pectoralis transversus muscles, but it 

 may also occur in the triceps, or, indeed, 



in almost any of the muscles around the 

 shoulder joint. The symptoms are very 

 peculiar, and cannot well be mistaken by 

 a careful observer who has once seen a 

 case of shoulder lameness. In all other 

 kinds (except the knee), the limb is free- 

 ly moved while in the air, and no pain is 

 expressed until the foot is about to touch 

 the ground; but here the lameness is 

 greatest while the knee is being protrud- 

 ed, and the limb is swung forward side- 

 ways, in a circular manner, which gives 

 an expression of great imbecility. It 

 also occasions great pain when the foot is 

 lifted and drawn forward by the hand, 

 just as in rhematism of the part (see 

 Horse, Rheumatism). When the ser- 

 ratus magnus has been strained by a fall 

 from a drop leap, or the pectoralis trans- 

 versus by a slip, causing the legs to be 

 widely separated, there is often great ob- 

 scurity in the case; bin; the history of 

 the accident will generally assist in form- 

 ing a correct diagnosis. The treatment 

 in the early stage will consist in bleeding 

 from the plate vein, to the extent of five 

 or six quarts of blood, followed by fo- 

 mentations with hot water, if there is 

 much heat and swelling, and giving 

 a dose of physic as soon as the bowels 

 will bear it. When the heat has disap- 

 peared, or at once, if there is none, ap- 

 ply the embrocation described for Horse, 

 Strain, and if this does not produce re- 

 lief, add to it one quarter of its bulk of 

 tincture of cantharides. 



HORSE, Knee, Strains of the.— The 

 knee, unlike its analogue in the human 

 subject (the wrist), is seldom strained in 

 the horse, in consequence of the strong 

 ligaments which bind the bones of the 

 carpus together. Still it sometimes hap- 

 pens that the internal lateral ligaments. 

 are overstretched, or, if in calf-kneed 

 horses, the posterior common ligaments, 

 or that connecting the scaphoid with the 

 pisiform bone, or probably all these will 

 suffer from over-extension. The accident 

 may be recognized by the heat and 

 swelling of the part affected, as well as 

 by the pain given on using the joint. 

 The anterior ligaments are seldom 

 strained, but are liable to injury from 

 blows received in various ways. The 

 treatment should be conducted on the 

 same principles as those of strains in the 

 shoulder. Cold applications will seldom 



