HORSE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



6 9 



HORSE, Wounds of Joints.— The knee 

 is the joint most frequently suffering from 

 -wound, being liable to be cut by a fall 

 upon it, if the ground is rough; and if 

 the accident takes place when the horse 

 is going at a rapid pace, the skin, liga- 

 ments and tendons may be worn through 

 by friction against the plain surface of a 

 smooth turnpike road. Whether the 

 joint itself is injured, or only the skin, 

 the accident is called a " broken knee," 

 and for convenience sake it will be well 

 to consider both under the present head. 



When a broken knee consists merely 

 in an abrasion of the skin, the attention 

 of the groom is solely directed to the res- 

 toration of the hair, which will grow 

 again as well as ever, if the bulbs or roots 

 are not injured. These are situated in 

 the internal layer of the true skin, and 

 therefore, when there is a smooth red sur- 

 face displayed, without any difference in 

 the texture of its - parts, confident hope 

 may be expressed that there will be no 

 blemish. If the skin is penetrated, either 

 the glistening surface of the tendons 

 or ligaments is apparent, or there is a soft 

 layer of cellular membrane, generally 

 containing a fatty cell or two in the mid- 

 dle of the wound of the skin. Even 

 here, by proper treatment, the injury 

 may be repaired so fully that the space 

 uncovered by hair cannot be recognized 

 by the ordinary observer, and not by any 

 one without bending the knee and look- 

 ing very carefully at it. The best treat- 

 ment is to foment the knee well with 

 warm water, so as to remove every parti- 

 cle of grit or dirt ; go on with this every 

 hour during the first day, and at night 

 apply a bran poultice to the knee, which 

 should be left on till the next morning. 

 Then cleanse the wound, and apply a 

 little spermacetti ointment, or lard without 

 salt, and with this keep the wound pliant 

 until it heals, which if slight it will in a 

 few days. If the skin is pierced there 

 will generally be a growth above it of red, 

 flabby granulations, which should be 

 carefully kept down to its own level (not 

 beneath it,) by the daily use of blue stone, 

 or if necessary of nitrate of silver. As 

 •soon as the wound is perfectly healed, if 

 the horse can be spared, the whole front 

 of the knee and skin should be dressed 

 with James' blister, which will bring off 

 the hair of the adjacent parts, and also 



encourage the growth of that injured by 

 the fall. In about three weeks or a 

 month from its application, the leg will 

 pass muster, for there will be no differ- 

 ence in the color of the old and new 

 hair, as there would have been without 

 the blister, and the new will also have 

 come on more quickly and perfectly than 

 it otherwise would. 



When the joint itself is opened the 

 case is much more serious, and there is 

 a risk not only of a serious blemish, 

 which can seldom be avoided, but of a 

 permanent stiffness of the leg, the mis- 

 chief sometimes being sufficient to lead 

 to constitutional fever, and the local in- 

 flammation going on to the destruction 

 of the joint by anchylosis. The treat- 

 ment should be directed to cleanse and 

 then close the joint, the former object be- 

 ing carried out by a careful ablution with 

 warm water, continued until there is no 

 doubt of all the dirt and grit having 

 been removed. Then, if there is only a 

 very small opening in the capsular liga- 

 ment, it may be closed by a careful and 

 light touch of a pointed iron heated to a 

 red heat. Generally, however, it is bet- 

 ter to apply some dry carded cotton to 

 the wound, and a bandage over this, 

 leaving all on for four or five days, when 

 it may be removed and reapplied. The 

 horse should be bled largely and physic- 

 ed, taking care to prevent all chance of 

 his lying down by racking him up. He 

 will seldom attempt to do this, on ac- 

 count of the pain occasioned in bending 

 the knee, but some animals will disregard 

 this when tired, and will go down some- 

 how. When the cotton is reapplied, if 

 there are granulations above the level of 

 the skin, they must be kept down as re- 

 commended in the last paragraph, and 

 the subsequent treatment by blister may 

 be exactly the same. By these means a 

 very extensive wound of the knee may 

 be often speedily cured, and the blemish 

 will be comparatively trifling. 



The knee is sometimes punctured by a 

 thorn in hunting, causing great pain and 

 lameness. If it can be felt externally, it 

 is well to cut down upon it and remove 

 it; but groping in the dark with the 

 knife among important tendons in front 

 of the knee is not on any account to be 

 attempted. The knee should be well fo- 

 mented, five or six times a day, until the 



