INJURIES PRODUCED BY STRIKING, AND THEIR COMPLICATIONS. 1041 



which case the swelling extends to the hock, or to the knee, invading 

 more particularly the inner surface of the limb. The lymph vessels 

 are generally swollen, the lymph glands enlarged, and fever is present. 

 The superficial veins may be involved, and thrombosis result, but 

 this complication is not so frequent as was formerly supposed. 



The course taken by injuries due to striking varies very greatly. 

 Provided the inflammatory process remains aseptic, and the injury 

 be not repeated, it is of little moment, and recovery rapidly follows. 

 Diffuse inflammation of the subcutis in horses is also usually mild. 

 The swelling appears suddenly, and increases for two to three days, 

 during which pain is marked, and some fever exists ; the swelling, 

 pain, and fever then begin to diminish, and in eight to ten days the 

 animal is convalescent. Permanent blemishes are rare, but under 

 some circumstances, especially if the cellulitis has been accompanied 

 by pyogenic infection, abscesses form in the upper parts of the limb, 

 high fever sets in, septicaemia develops, and soon leads to death. 

 Such complications, however, are rare. 



Subaponeurotic cellulitis is graver, either when confined to the 

 fetlock or coronet, or when appearing in a diffuse form. In the 

 first case a circumscribed, very painful swelling develops around 

 the fetlock -joint, and after eight to fourteen days, or later, breaks 

 and discharges a very offensive pus, mixed with fragments of necrotic 

 tissue ; the pain then diminishes, and recovery follows. Sometimes 

 the abscess re-forms, and the disease may then last for a longer time. 

 When purulent inflammation of the fetlock-joint occurs, the pain 

 and fever increase, no weight can be borne on the limb, and even 

 slight movements of the foot aggravate suffering. The condition is 

 then incurable. Injuries to the coronet may in a similar way be 

 followed by purulent inflammation of the pedal or coronet joints, 

 and cellulitis extend to the sheaths of the flexor tendons, with equally 

 fatal results. 



Treatment. Among the most important preventive measures is 

 attention to the horse's general condition and to feeding. Young 

 horses should be gradually brought into work, and not be called on 

 for great or continued exertion until their muscular system is properly 

 developed. To prevent striking, special attention should be paid 

 to the shoeing, and the application of a so-called " anti-cutting -shoe " 

 will be found very useful, especially on hind feet. Shoes for " cutting " 

 and " brushing " are fully described in Dollar and Wheatley's " Horse- 

 shoeing and the Horse's Foot." After lowering the outer wall 

 sufficiently to, at least, prevent it meeting the ground sooner than 

 the inner, the edge of the latter is somewhat rounded off, and a close- 



E.S. 3 X 



