DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 345 



position. Let him push the thigh forcibly against the hip bone, and 

 the contact will again probably cause a manifestation of pain. If 

 the horse is trotted, the limited action of the hip joint proper and the 

 excessive dropping and rising of the hip of the opposite side will be 

 easily recognized. Usuall}^ the animal does not extend the foot as far 

 as customarily and picks it up much sooner. 



The abducdve or circumflex motion observed in shoulder lameness 

 is also present in hip lameness, but under special conditions, and the 

 test of the difficult}-, either by traveling on soft ground or in turning 

 the horse in a circle, nia}' here also contribute to the diagnosis, as in 

 testing for lameness in the anterior extremit3^ 



PrognoHia. — The prognosis of hip lameness is at times quite serious, 

 not only on account of the long duration of treatment required to 

 effect good results, and because of the character which ma}^ be 

 assumed by the disease, but of the permanence of the disability result- 

 ing from it. Exostosis and ulcerative arthritis are sequelae which 

 often resist every form of treatment. 



Treatment. — As before intimated, this is little more than a repetition 

 of the remarks upon the lameness of the shoulder, with slight modifi- 

 cations occasioned by the muscular structure of the hip, and we are 

 limited to the same recommendations of treatment. The advantages 

 of rest must be reaffirmed, with local applications, of which, however, 

 it may be said that they are more distinctly indicated and likely to be 

 more effective in their results than in shoulder lameness, and may be 

 more freely emplo}' ed, whether in the form of liniments, blisters (singly 

 or repeated), tiring, or setoning. 



SPRAINS OF SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS AND OF THE FLEXOR TENDONS OR THEIR SHEATH. 



The fibrous structure situated behind the cannon bones, both in the 

 fore and hind legs, is often the seat of lacerations or sprains resulting 

 from violent efforts or sudden jerks. 



Cause. — The injury'ma}'^ be considered serious or trifling, according 

 to the circumstances of each case as judged by its own histor3^ Among 

 the predisposing causes are a long thin fetlock and a narrow knee or 

 hock as viewed from the side, with the flexor muscles tied in just below 

 the joint. The longer and more oblique the pastern the greater is the 

 strain on the flexor tendons and suspensory ligaments, hence a low 

 quarter, a toe calk, and no heel calks, or a thin calk placed at the tip 

 under the toe, and leaving the quarters long abnormally stretches the 

 back tendons and causes a great strain upon them just before the 

 weight is shifted from the foot in locomotion. In runners and hunters 

 the disease is apt to be periodic. In driving horses it is most common 

 in well-bred animals of nervous temperament. Draft horses suffer 

 most frequently in the hind legs. 



Symptoms. — The injur}- is readil}- recognized b}^ the changed aspect 



