208 s INJURIES. 



BROKEN KNEES. 



Various causes might be enumerated for horses falling 

 down and breaking their knees. Among these may be 

 mentioned as the most common, tenderness and lame- 

 ness of the fore limbs ; tripping action, cutting, unequal 

 action, slippery or rugged roads, loose or rolling stones, pave- 

 ments, &c. 



Receiving a large proportion of the weight, nay, at times, 

 the entire burthen of the body, it is not surprising if the fore 

 legs occasionally give way and the fall is attended with 

 serious consequences. Nor will the disrepute of horses 

 with marks of broken knees be found void of reason, when 

 we consider lameness and faulty action form the leading 

 causes of the accident. The fore legs have little to do with 

 progression ; their principal office is to support the burthen, 

 which is propelled onwards by the hind limbs : therefore, 

 should the fore legs from any accident, miss or shorten their 

 step, so as not to catch the weight the moment it is driven 

 forward, the equipoise is lost, and a tumble is the necessary 

 consequence. 



Nature or Broken Knees. — There are few more in- 

 definite phrases than " broken knee -J^ it conveys no precise 

 idea of the nature of the accident. Should the injury only 

 amount to contusion, no skin being cut or divided, then it 

 could not constitute a broken knee. A case of this kind 

 would require nothing beyond fomentation or evaporating 

 washes. Should the skin, however, be lacerated, then it 

 becomes a question of moment what else is divided. Is the 

 skin simply torn ? Is the sheath of the tendon immediately 

 beneath it opened ? Is the tendon itself, with the capsular 

 ligament, ruptured, and the cavity of the knee-joint exposed? 

 It must be obvious these are considerations of importance 

 to the practitioner, and are points that must be ascertained 

 before he can pretend to regulate the treatment. 



Simple Broken Knee. — Contusion and laceration of the 

 skin is an accident needing little assistance : however, it 



