376 BUREAU OF ANIMAL IXDUSTRY. 



fill up again after renewed labor. In old cases the tumors are hard- 

 ened, and may become converted into bone bj^ a de^wsit of the lime 

 salts. 



Treatment. — The large, puffy joints of suckling colts, as a rule, 

 require no treatment; for, as the animal gro-ws older the parts clean 

 up, and, after a time, the swelling entirel}- disappears. 



When the trouble is due to an injury, entire rest is to be secured 

 b}' the use of slings and a high-heeled shoe. Cold-water douches 

 should be used once or twice a day, followed by cold-water bandages, 

 until the fever has subsided and the soreness is largely removed, 

 when a blister is to be applied. 



In old windgalls, which cause more or less stiffness, some relief 

 may be had by the use of cold compress bandages, elastic bobts, or the 

 red iodide of mercury blisters. Opening the sacs^ as recommended 

 b}^ some authors, is of doubtful utilitj^, and should be adopted only 

 b}' the surgeon capable of treating the wound he has made. Enforced 

 rest until complete recovery is effected should alwaj's be insisted upon, 

 since a too earh' return to work is sure to be followed b}- relapse. 



SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK. 



Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and, as 

 a rule, affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast work, as trotters, 

 runners, steeple-chasers, hunters, cow-ponies, and those that interfere, 

 are particularly liable to this injury. 



Causes. — Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with dis- 

 eases which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular disease, 

 contracted heels, sidebones, chronic laminitis, etc., are predisposed to 

 sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a misstep, stum- 

 bling, or slipping, which results in the joint being extended or flexed 

 to excess. The same result may happen where the foot is caught in a 

 rut, hole in abridge, or in a car track, and the animal falls or struggles 

 violently. Direct blows and punctured wounds may also set up 

 inflammation of the joint. 



Symjptoms. — The s3'mptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with the 

 severity of the injur}'. If slight there may be no lameness, but simply 

 a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground 

 and the joint is twisted a little. In cases more severe the joint swells, 

 is hot and puff}^, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the 

 animal to hobble on three legs. While at rest the leg is flexed at the 

 joint affected, and the toe rests on the ground. 



Treatment. — If the injury is slight, cold-water bandages and a few 

 clays' rest are sufficient to effect recovery. Where there is an intense 

 lameness, swelling, etc., the leg should be placed under a constant 

 stream of cold water, as described in the treatment for quittor. W^hen 

 the inflammation has subsided a blister to the joint should be applied. 



