238 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



Treatment. It is our conviction that lameness of the shoulder 

 will in many cases disappear with no other prescription than that of 

 rest. Provided the lesions occasioning it are not too severe, time is 

 all that is required. But the negation of letting alone is seldom ac- 

 cepted as a means of doing good, in the place of the active and the 

 positive form of treatment. This is in accordance with a trait of 

 human nature which is universal, and is unlimited in its applica- 

 tions. Hence there must be something done. In mild cases of 

 shoulder lameness, then, the indications are water, either in the cold 

 douche or by showering, or by warm fomentations. Warm, wet 

 blankets are of great service ; and in addition, or as alternative, ano- 

 dyne liniments, camphor, belladonna, either in the form of tincture 

 or the oils, are of benefit, and at a later period stimulating friction 

 with suitable mixtures, sweating liniments, blistering compounds, 

 subcutaneous injections over the region of the muscle of l 1 /^ grains 

 of veratin (the variety insoluble in water) mixed in 2 drams of 

 water, etc., will find their place, and finally, when necessity demands 

 it, the firing iron and the seton. 



The duration of the treatment must be determined by its effects 

 and the evidence that may be offered of the results following the 

 action of the reparative process. But the great essential condition 

 of cure, and the one without which the possibility of relapse will 

 always remain as a menace, is, as we have often reiterated in analog- 

 ous cases, rest, imperatively rest, irrespective of any other prescrip- 

 tions with which it may be associated. 



SPRAIN OP THE ELBOW MUSCLES. 



Causes. This injury, which fortunately is not very common, 

 is mostly encountered in cities, among heavy draft horses or rapidly 

 driven animals which are obliged to travel, often smooth shod, upon 

 slippery, icy, or greasy pavements, where they are easily liable to lose 

 their foothold. The region of the strain is the posterior part of the 

 shoulder, and the muscles which are affected are those which occupy 

 the space between the posterior border of the scapula and the pos- 

 terior face of the arm. 



Symptoms. The symptoms are easily recognized, especially 

 when the animal is in action. While at rest the attitude may be 

 normal, or by close scrutiny a peculiarity may perhaps be detected. 

 The leg may seem to drop ; the elbow may appear to be lower than 

 its fellow, with the knee and lower part of the leg flexed and the 

 foot resting on the toe, with the heel raised. Such an attitude, 

 however, may be occasionally assumed by an animal without hav- 

 ing any special significance. But when it becomes more pronounced 

 on putting him in motion the fact acquires a symptomatic value, and 

 this is the case in the present instance. A rapid gait becomes quite 

 impossible, and the walk, as in some few other diseases, becomes 

 sufficiently characteristic to warrant a diagnosis even when observed 

 from a distance. An entire dropping of the anterior part of the 

 trunk becomes manifest, and no weight is carried on the disabled 

 side, in consequence of the loss of action in the suspensory muscles. 

 There are often heat, pain, and swelling in the muscular mass at 



