INJURIES, ETC., BELOW THE KNEE. 271 



an animal may be more or less predisposed to such an 

 accident on account of bad conformation, etc. 



Si/mjHovis. — There is more or less lameness, and a stub- 

 biness in action. Heat, pain, and considerable swelling 

 exist, and may be greater on one side of the joint than on 

 the other. The diagnosis is further helped by flexing 

 the joint, when the animal shows pain, after which, on 

 being trotted out, the lameness is observed to be increased. 

 No harm ever accrues from examining the foot, or even the 

 whole limb. More particularly is this true, in the case 

 in the hind limb, as the animal may have picked up a nail, 

 and both in sprain of the fetlock-joint and injuries to the 

 hind foot there is knuckling of the fetlock-joint. 



Treatment — Hot and cold applications, according to the 

 season, are to be long and frequently applied to allay irrita- 

 tion, after which counter-irritants are to be used as may 

 seem necessary, and the animal allowed a long rest. 



SESAMOIDITIS. 



This consists of an inflammation of the sesamoid bursa, 

 in consequence of sprain or the reception of an injury of 

 some kind. 



SijmjJtoms. — There is lameness more or less marked, the 

 animal usually going on his toe. There is also more or less 

 swelling of the bursa, and on a careful examination con- 

 siderable heat may be discovered in connection with tli'^ 

 parts. On manipulation pain is evinced by the patient, and 

 after flexion, extension, etc. — the joint being manipulated in 

 various ways — the animal on being trotted out is observed 

 to be lamer than before. The swelling of the bursa is hard 

 and tense, and off'ers much greater resistance to the fingers 

 than is ofl'ered by an ordinary wind-gall. After a few days' 

 rest the animal may go perfectly sound, but quickly becomes 

 lame on being exercised, the lameness, as a rule, being 



