SPRAIN OF FLEXOR TENDONS. 277 



on the inner side, and for the reason that the operator can 

 better avoid dividing the artery. In the hind leg, it does not 

 matter from which side the knife is introduced, for the artery is 

 there, unless the operation be very low down, protected by the 

 external small metatarsal bone. In all cases the skin must not 

 be wounded on the side opposite to that by which the scalpel is 

 introduced. 



The after treatment is very simple, if the operation has been 

 properly performed ; the wound may be pinned, the leg lightly 

 bandaged, and occasionally moistened with tepid water; the 

 horse's head tied to the rack for two or three days ; at the end 

 of which time the wound will have healed. 



As a rule, I have all the shoes removed before I perform an 

 operation of this kind, and the feet rasped to as near their 

 natural proportions as possible. This is important, as the lame 

 foot is apt to be allowed to grow at the heel to an enormous 

 extent. All this overgrowth must be removed, or deformity of 

 the leg will arise from it. 



In a few days after the operation, or in some cases immediately, 

 if no adhesions exist, it will be seen that the horse brings the 

 heel of the foot to the ground, and that the toe is turned up 

 when he is made to move. This need not cause any apprehen- 

 sion ; indeed, the only drawback to the success of the operation 

 is the contraction of the new formation uniting the divided ends 

 of the tendons, and the re-assumption of the form, to overcome 

 which the operation has been performed. I always feel sure of 

 a successful operation if the animal continues to walk upon the 

 heel for some weeks afterwards, and I never apply a high-heeled 

 shoe to such a case. 



The operation, although promising in itself, and successful in 

 restoring the limb to its natural position, very frequently proves 

 a source of disappointment, from the fact that the reparative 

 material, which is thrown out between the ends of the divided 

 tendons, gradually contracts, whereby the tendons are made as 

 short as before it has been performed. In the hind leg this 

 contraction is the usual consequence, and the tendency to it has 

 to be overcome by a lever at the toe of the shoe. This often 

 arrests, but seldom finally prevents it. In the fore extremity 

 the operation is much more successful, the limb maintaining its 

 natural condition for years afterwards. 



