258 



very often, especially in trotters, the flat surface of the hoof strikes 

 the fetlock without evident injury, and attention is directed to these 

 parts only by the occasional tripping and unsteady gait. In such 

 cases proof of the cause may be had by walking and trotting the 

 animal, after first painting the inside toe and quarter of the suspected 

 foot with a thin coating of chalk, charcoal, mud, or paint. 



Treatment. When the trouble is due to deformity or faulty 

 conformation, it may not be possible to overcome the defect. In such 

 cases, and as well in those due to exhaustion or fatigue, the fetlock, 

 or ankle, boot must be used. In many instances interfering may be 

 prevented by proper shoeing. The outside heel and quarter of the 

 foot on the injured leg should be lowered sufficiently to change the 

 relative position of the fetlock joint, by bringing it farther away 

 from the center plane of the body, thereby permitting the other foot 

 to pass by without striking. A very slight change is often sufficient 

 to effect this result. At the same time the offending foot should be 

 so shod that the shoe may be set well under the hoof at the point 

 responsible for the injury. The shoe should be reset every three 

 or four weeks. 



When the cause has been removed, 'cold-water bandages to the 

 injured parts will soon remove the soreness and swelling, especially 

 in recent cases. If, however, the fetlock has become calloused from 

 long-continued bruising, a Spanish-fly blister over the parts, repeated 

 in two or three weeks if necessary, will aid in reducing the leg to 

 its natural condition. 



SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK. 



Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and, 

 as a rule, affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast work, as trot- 

 ters, runners, steeplechasers, hunters, cow ponies, and those that in- 

 terfere, are particularly liable to this injury. 



Causes. Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with 

 diseases which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular 

 disease, contracted heels, sidebones, chronic laminitis, etc., are pre- 

 disposed to sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a mis- 

 step, stumbling, or slipping, which results in the joint being ex- 

 tended or flexed to excess. The same result may happen where the 

 foot is caught in a rut, hole in a bridge, or in a car track, and the 

 animal falls or struggles violently. Direct blows and punctured 

 wounds may also set up inflammation of the joint. 



Symptoms. The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with 

 the severity of the injury. If slight, there may be no lameness, but 

 simply a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven 

 ground and the joint is twisted a little. In cases more severe the 

 joint swells, is hot and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense 

 as to compel the animal to hobble on three legs. While at rest the 

 leg is flexed at the joint affected, and the toe rests on the ground. 



Treatment. If the injury is slight, cold-water bandages and a 

 few days' rest are sufficient to effect recovery. Where there is an 

 intense lameness, swelling, etc., the leg should be placed under a 

 constant stream of cold water, as described in the treatment for quit- 



