DISEASES OF HORSES 219 



by acute inflammation, they cause no lameness until such time as, 

 by reason of their size, they interfere with the action of the joint. 



Causes. Sidebones often grow in heavy horses without any ap- 

 parent injury, and their development has been attributed to the 

 overexpansion of the cartilages caused by the great weight of the ani- 

 mal. Blows and other injuries to the cartilages may set up an in- 

 flammatory process which ends in the formation of these bony 

 growths. High-heeled shoes, high calks, and long feet are always 

 classed among the conditions which may excite the growth of side- 

 bones. They are often seen in connection with contracted heels, 

 ringbones, navicular disease, punctured wounds of the foot, quarter- 

 cracks, and occasionally as a sequel to founder. 



Symptoms. In the earlier stages of the disease, if inflamma- 

 tion is present, the only evidence of the trouble to be detected is a 

 little fever over the seat of the affected cartilage and a slight lame- 

 ness. In the lameness of sidebones the toe of the foot first strikes the 

 ground and the step is shorter than natural. The subject comes out 

 of the stable stiff and sore, but the gait is more free after exercise. 



Since the deposit of bony matter often begins in that part of 

 the cartilage where it is attached to the coffin bone, the diseased 

 process may exist for some time before the bony growth can be seen 

 or felt. Later on, however, the cartilage can be felt to have lost its 

 elastic character, and by standing in front of the animal a promi- 

 nence of the coronary region at the quarters can be seen. Occasion- 

 ally these bones become so large as to bulge the hoof outward, and 

 by pressing on the joint they so interfere with locomotion that the 

 animal becomes entirely useless. 



Treatment. So soon as the disease can be diagnosed active 

 treatment should be adopted. Cold-water bandages are to be used 

 for a few days to relieve the fever and soreness. The improvement 

 consequent on the use of these simple measures often leads to the 

 belief that the disease has recovered ; but with a return to work the 

 lameness, fever, etc., reappears. For this reason the use of blisters, 

 or, better still, the firing iron, should follow on the discontinuance 

 of the cold bandages. 6ut in many instances no treatment will ar- 

 rest the growth of these bony tumors, and as a palliative measure 

 neurotomy must be resorted to. Generally this operation will so re- 

 lieve the pain of locomotion that the patient may be used for slow 

 work; but in animals used for fast driving or for saddle purposes, 

 the operation is practically useless. 



RINGBONE. 



A ringbone is the growth of a bony tumor on the ankle. This 

 tumor is, in fact, not the disease, but simply the result of an inflam- 

 matory action set up in the periosteum and bone tissue proper of the 

 pastern bones. 



Causes. Injuries, such as blows, sprains, overwork in young, 

 undeveloped animals, fast work on hard roads, jumping, etc., are 

 among the principal exciting causes of ringbone. Horses most dis- 

 posed to this disease are those with short, upright pasterns, for the rea- 

 son that the shock of locomotion is but imperfectly dissipated in the 



