BROKEN KNEES. 237 



Punctured Wounds. — These are of various kinds. When 

 a punctured wound is deep, and does not very soon heal, 

 but shows that it is irritated by the occurrence of swelling 

 and pain, the external orifice must be enlarged by a cut^ and 

 kept open, so as to afibrd exit to any imprisoned matter. Of 

 course, if a joint is injured, the great object is to close it 

 as soon as possible ; therefore, in such cases no cutting is 

 required. 



Sometimes the eye-lid of the horse is torn, and hangs down, 

 being only attached at one end. This should not be cut ofi*, 

 but an attempt made to preserve it. The raw edges, if it is 

 not attended to immediately, should be made to bleed all over 

 by careful paring with a sharp knife or fine scissors, and the 

 divided parts, having been carefully adjusted, should be 

 united by pin, or thread, or wire sutures. An astonishing cure, 

 without any blemish, is thus very often effected, and the 

 patient is saved from the life-long annoyance caused by the 

 loss of so important a protection to the visual organ as an 

 eye-lid. 



The lips should also, when wounded, be treated in the same 

 conservative manner ; of course, the animal must be kept 

 quiet by a twitch while the sutures are inserted; and 

 afterwards he should be so fastened that he cannot rub the 

 parts against the manger, rack, or sides of the stall or box 

 in which he may be confined. 



BROKEN KNEES. 



Broken knees are of frequent occurrence, and are a very 

 great annoyance and trouble, not only in themselves, but 

 also because the blemish may materially lessen the horse's 

 value when he is to be sold. They very often arise from 

 the horse falling while trotting down hill, and most frequently 

 when he is being ridden by a servant or groom ; and for this 



