286 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



AVc first turn our attention to the splint, as ce'-taiu bony enlarge- 

 ments which are developed on the cannon bone, between the knee or 

 the hock and the fetlock joint, are called. They are found on the 

 inside of the leg, from the knee, near to which they are frequently 

 found, downward to about the lower third of the princii^al cannon 

 bone. The}' are of various dimensions, and are readily perceptil)le 

 both to the 03-0 and to the touch. They vary considerably in size, 

 ranging from that of a large nut downward to very small proportions. 

 In searching for them they ma}' ])e readily detected by the hand if 

 they have attained sufficient development in their usual situation, but 

 must be distinguished from a small bony enlargement which may be 

 felt at the lower third of the cannon bone, which is neither a splint 

 nor a pathological formation of any kind, but merely the button-like 

 enlargement at the lower extremity of the small metacarpal or splint 

 bone. 



We have said that splints are to be found on the inside of the leg. 

 This is true as a general statement, but it is not invariably so, and they 

 occasionally appear on the outside. It is also true that the}" appear 

 most commonly on the fore legs, but this is not exclusively the case, 

 and they may at times be found on both the inside and outside of the 

 hind legs. Usually a splint forms only a true exostosis, or a single 

 bony growth, wath a somewhat diffuse base, but neither is this invari- 

 ably the case. In some instances they assume more important dimen- 

 sions, and pass from the inside to the outside of the bone, on its pos- 

 terior face, between that and the suspensory ligament. This form is 

 termed the pegged sjplint^ and constitutes a serious and permanent 

 deformity, in consequence of its interference with the play of the 

 fibrous cord which passes behind it, becoming thus a source of con- 

 tinual irritation and consequently of permanent lameness. 



Sym-ptoms. — A splint may thus frequently become a cause of lame- 

 ness though not necessarily in every instance; but it is a lameness pos- 

 sessing features peculiar to itself. It is not always continuous, but at 

 times assumes an intermittent character, and is more marked when the 

 animal is warm than when lie is cool. If the lameness is near the knee- 

 joint, it is very apt to become aggravated when the animal is put to 

 work, and the gait acquires then a peculiar character, arising from 

 the manner in which the limb is carried outward from the knees down- 

 wards, which is done by a kind of abduction of the lower part of the 

 leg. Other symptoms, however, than the lameness and the presence 

 of the splint, which is its cause, may be looked for in the same connec- 

 tion as those which have been mentioned as pertaining to certain evi- 

 dences of periostitis, in the increase of the temperature of the part, 

 with swelling and probably pain on pressure. This last symptom is 



