94 CAUSES OF UNSOUNDNESS, 



ness, no matter whether high or low, inside or 

 outside the leg. One can never tell how long 

 a horse may continue sound when this disease is 

 present, and an apparently trifling splint is sud- 

 denly found to have produced a most intractable 

 lameness. A common situation for the spUnty 

 deposit to appear is upon the upper third and inner 

 side of the cannon bone, just at the junction of the 

 cannon with the splint bone. The sphnt bones are 

 two slender rods, situated at the back of the cannon 

 bone, one of them being on the inside and the other 

 on the outside. Each of these small bones com- 

 prises a head, body, and terminal point below, 

 known as the "button" of the splint bone, and 

 amateurs often confuse the latter with splint — a 

 totally different matter altogether. As previously 

 stated, the usual place for splint to appear is at 

 the upper and inner side of the cannon bone, but 

 not uncommonly the splinty deposit is situated 

 immediately below the knee, constituting one of 

 the worst situations it can occupy and that 

 nearly always gives rise to lameness ; yet the 

 splint is exceedingly difficult to detect. Some- 

 times a whole group of splints are found at the 

 back of the cannon. Again, these same deposits 

 are often found upon the front, and the outside of 



