DISEASES OF THE HOESE. 819 



"I 

 when the callus has been formed on the floor of the pelvis near the 

 obturator foramen, pressing upon the course or involving the obtu- 

 rator nerve. 



Treatment. — The treatment of all fractures of the hip bone should, 

 in our estimation, be of the simplest kind. Rendered comparatively 

 immovable by the thickness of the muscles by which the region is 

 enveloped, one essential indication suggests itself, and that is, to place 

 the animal in a position which, so far as possible, will be fixed and 

 permanent. For the accomplishment of this purpose the best measure, 

 as we consider it, is to place him in a stall of just sufficient width to 

 admit him, and to appl}"" a set of slings, snugly, but comf ortabl v. This 

 will fulfill the essential conditions of recover}- — rest and immobilit3^ 

 Blistering applications would be injurious, though the adhesive mix- 

 ture might prove in some degree beneficial. 



The minimum period allowable for solid union in a fractured hip is, 

 in our judgment, two months, and we have known cases in which that 

 was too short a time. 



As we have before said, there maj^ be cases in Avhich the treatment 

 for fracture at the floor of the pelvis has been followed by symptoms 

 of partial paralysis, the animal, when l^^ing down, being unable to 

 regain his feet, but moving f reeh' when placed in an upright position. 

 This condition is due to the interference of the callus with the func- 

 tions of the obturator nerve, which it presses upon or surrounds. I 

 feel warranted b}^ my experience in similar cases in cautioning owners 

 of horses in this condition to exercise due patience, and to avoid a 

 premature sentence of condemnation against their invalid servants; 

 they are not all irrecoverablj- paralytic. With alternations of moder- 

 ate exercise, rest in the slings, and the effect of time vfhile the natural 

 process of absorption is taking effect upon the callus, with other ele- 

 ments of change that may be so operating, the horse may in due time 

 become able to once more earn his subsistence and serve his master. 



FRACTURE OF THE SCAPULA. 



This bone is seldom fractured, its comparative exemption being due 

 to its free mobility and the protection it receives from the superim- 

 posed soft tissues. Only direct and powerful causes are sufficient to 

 effect the injury, and when it occurs the large rather than the smaller 

 animals are the subjects. 



Cause. — The causes are heavy blovN^s or kicks and violent collisions 

 with unyielding objects. Those which are occasioned by falls are gen- 

 erally at the neck of the bone, and of the transverse and comminuted 

 varieties. 



Symptoms. — The diagnosis is not always easy. The S3'mptom3 are 

 inabilitj^ to rest the leg on the ground and to carry weights, and they 

 are present in various degrees from slight to severe. The leg rests 



