338 



CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



only a question of a few hours. The p:irt gets cold and clammy, ape- 

 culiar offensive sweat rises on the surface, the skin, if white, l)ecomes 

 purplish, but if l)hu>k, the discoh)ration cannot l)e seen. As soon as mor- 

 tification sets in the pain ceaseSo 



What to do.— If it is a fracture of the cannon, arm, thigh, femur 

 (tiic ])()ne Ix'tween the hip and stifle), shoulder or back, ninety-nine times 

 out of a hundred the case is fatal if displacement takes place, and espe- 

 cially so if it is a compound or complex fracture. If it is a fracture of 

 the back, ])arah>i- of all part> Ixhind 1 lie IVacfuv will ensue. In any of 



J2gacs8>f-^ f<7 



SLING IN USE. 



the above instances, the horse may as well be destroyed, for it is utterly 

 impossible to keep him quiet till the ])ones knit ; thoy would repair 

 as readily and as substantially as those of man, if we could put him to 

 bed and keep him there six weeks. But take what measures you may, 

 in most cases you wnll fail from no other reason than that he keeps mov- 

 ing about, swinging the leg, and behaving in a very restless manner gen- 

 erally, which prevents the ends of the bones from remaining m quiet 

 contact long enough to grow together. The bones of dogs, sheep and 

 sometimes cattle, grow together very readily because they are more 

 quiet, and favor an injured leg more than a horse. If it is the shoulder 

 or thigh, it is so deeply imbedded in muscle that it is verj difficult to set 

 the bones, especially if the fracture is oblique, for the muscles contract 

 and draw the ends of the bones past their proper positions from two to 

 six inches, and it is an utter impossibility to bring the ends togetiier 

 again even with the aid of pulleji' 



