270 RINGBONE. 



either the femoral or the plat vein — may be opened, and at the 

 same time a brisk cathartic may be given ; and as soon as that 

 has worked off, a blister may be applied to the ringboned pastern ; 

 the part being first well heated, and particularly in cold weather, 

 by previous soaking in hot water, or by a spongio-piline poultice. 



When, however, the case, instead of being a recent is a chronic 

 one, one consisting in hard and solid exostosis, and from which 

 most, if not all, superficial at least, inflammatory action seems to 

 have disappeared, it would be folly to expect that any remedies of 

 an antiphlogistic character could do any good. The lameness here 

 may arise from some deep-seated morbid action, probably in the 

 vicinity of the pastern joint; and in such a case nothing is likely 

 to be of so much service as potent counter-irritants in the shape 

 of strong blistering, and sometimes in that of firing. Irritating 

 applications to the skin, such as ol, thymi, antimony ointment, &c., 

 are found little beneficial ; and such as have a tendency to sti- 

 mulate the absorbents into action, the iodine and mercurial oint- 

 ments, are hardly applicable in a case like this. They may, when 

 the horse is in a state to continue his work, be used to promote 

 absorption of any remaining tumour ; they will exert, however, but 

 trifling power in the cure of lameness. SoUeysell made the remark, 

 that on colts and young horses ringbones " insensibly wear off of 

 themselves* ;" and he might have added, that not only ringbones, 

 but spavins and splints, and other exostoses, as horses advance in 

 vears, likewise " wear off*." Independently, however, of the in- 

 fluence of age on such like enlargements, it is, we would repeat, 

 truly astonishing what good effect work, or forced use of the dis- 

 eased joints, has on them ; in proof whereof we might instance the 

 many ringboned and spavined horses every-day's observation 

 brings to our notice working in the streets of London and other 

 populous towns ; and it is incredible what labour such stifF-jointed 

 or partially stiff'-jointed horses are able to perform so long as the 

 cavities of their joints remain uninvaded by disease. 



Periosteotomy. — professor Sewell, whose highly commend- 

 able philanthropy has led him on all possible occasions to be the 

 warm advocate of this operation, recommends its adoption in ring- 



* Op. cit. vol. ii, p. 26D. 



