DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 363 



the inflammation has been unusuall}' severe, a mortification of the skin 

 may become one of the consequences, a .slougli talking place, succeeded 

 by a cutaneous ulcer on the inside of the fetlock or "svhere the greater 

 number of the original wounds are inflicted. If the interfering has 

 been often repeated it may be followed b}^ another condition, which 

 has been considered in our remarks upon other affections. It is a 

 plastic exudation or thickening of the parts, which are commonly said 

 to have become "callous," and the effect of it is to destroy the regu- 

 larity of the outlines of the joint to an extent which constitutes a 

 serious blemish, which will be permanent, and according to the degree 

 of the aberration from the natural and symmetrical lines will inevitably 

 depreciate the commercial value of the animal. 



An animal in interfering may thus exhibit a range of symptoms 

 which, from the simplest form of a mere " touching," may successively 

 assume the serious characters of an ugl}^ cicatrix, a hard, plastic 

 swelling, or perhaps, as witnessed at the knee, of periostitis with its 

 sequelae. 



If a single and constantly recurring cause — a blow — be the starting 

 point in interfering, we ma}-^ now consider the subject of the predispo- 

 sition which brings such serious results upon the suffering animal, 

 and the conditions which lead to and accompanj^ it. These are 

 numerous, but the tirst in frequency' and importance is peculiarit}- of 

 conformation in the animals addicted to it. The first class will include 

 horses whose chests are narrow and whose legs do not stand straight 

 and upright, but are crooked and pigeon-toed in and out. The second 

 class includes those whose legs are weak, either from 3'outh or hard 

 labor, or from severe attacks of sickness. Another class is made up 

 of those having abnormally developed feet, or which have been badly 

 shod with unnecessaril}' wide or heavy shoes. Another class consists 

 of those that are affected with swoUen fetlocks or chronic edematous 

 swelling of the leg. Another is formed of animals with a peculiar 

 action, as those whose knee action is ver}^ high, and it is these that 

 furnish most of the cases of speedy cut. 



Prognosis. — The prognosis of interfering is never a very serious 

 one. However violent the blow may be it is rarely that subsequent 

 complications of a troublesome nature occur. The principal evil 

 attending it is a liability' to be followed by a thickened or callous 

 deposit wdiich is not only an eyesore and a blemish, but constitutes a 

 new and increased predisposition. The remark that "an animal 

 wdiich has interfered once is alwa3's liable to interfere," is often con- 

 firmed and sanctioned by a recurrence of the trouble. 



Treatment. — Another point in w^hich there is a resemblance between 

 this lesion and others which we have considered is in its responsiveness 

 to the same treatment with them. Indeed, the prescription of warm 



