SPEEDY CUTTING 99 



Animals affected with this disease go lame when trotting, but the 

 lameness is obscure. At first there is only a slight stiffness at the knees, 

 but later these joints are flexed only with difficulty, and the animal now 

 has a tendency to fall forwards. In the loose-box the patient stands 

 with the knees eased by being slightly bent. In the later stages he does 

 not lie down, on account of inability to flex the joints. 



Fresh carpal bones, the subject of this disease in the later stage, 

 present numerous small erosions on their articular surfaces where the 

 cartilage has been worn away. 



As a rule the results do not justify treatment. Blistering and firing 

 the knee have been adopted without much success, for although the 

 animal may be brought to gallop fairly well, he trots badly. 



Moller proposed median neurectomy in the treatment of this disease, 

 with the result that some of the animals subsequently went sufficiently 

 well to be able to do carriag^e work. 



SPEEDY CUTTING 



This may be defined as an injury to the inner aspect of the limb in 

 the region of the knee, caused during progression by the part being 

 struck by the shoe or foot of the opposite limb. 



The degree of injury varies. Occasionally it is restricted merely to 

 a superficial marking which may be seen near the lower extremity of 

 the radius, over the scaphoid, the trapezoid, or still lower down near the 

 upper extremities of the large and inner small metacarpal hones. 

 Frequently, however, the injury is severe, and marked lameness results. 

 At first there is usually a superficial bruising of the part, causing a 

 slight swelling owing to subcutaneous exudation of inflammatory fluid. 

 Frequent striking, however, leads to the appearance of a small area of 

 necrosed tissue after the nature of a " sitfast." 



In these cases the skin is not cut through. When the part is struck 



