CEAJir. — STKJXGllALT. 183 



CRAMP. 



This is a sudden, involuntary, and painful contraction of a particular 

 muscle or set of muscles. It differs from tetanixs in its shorter duration, and 

 iu its occasionally attacking the muscles of organic life. It may be termed a 

 species of transitory tetanus, affecting mostly the hind extremities. It is 

 generally observed when the horse is first brought out of the stable, and 

 especially if he has been hardly vporked. One of the legs appears stiff", 

 inflexible, and is, to a sKght degree, dragged after the animal. After he 

 has proceeded a few steps, the stiffness nearly or quite disappears, or only 

 a shght degree of lameness remains during the greater part of the day. 



Cramp may be brought on by exposure either to a high or low tempera- 

 ture. 



If a certain degree of lameness remains, the attendant on the horse 

 should endeavour to find out the muscle chiefly affected, which he may 

 easily do by a feeling of hardness, or an expression of pain, when he presses 

 on the part affected. Friction with the hand will very frequently be all 

 that is necessary to remove cramp, but should this not be effectual, hot 

 fomentations to the part, and the administration of laxative medicines, must 

 be had resort to. 



STRINGHALT. 



This is a sudden and spasmodic action of some of the muscles of the thigh, 

 obseiwable when the horse is first led from the stable. One or both legs 

 are caught up at every step with great rapidity and violence, so that the 

 fetlock sometimes touches the belly. In the great majority of cases it 

 does not disappear after exercise, but the horse continues to be afflicted 

 with this peculiar gait. In a few cases, however, after the horse has been 

 out a Httle while, it partially goes off", and the normal action of the limb, 

 to a certain extent, returns. 



Stringhalt is not a perfectly involuntary action of a certain muscle, or a 

 certain set of muscles. The limb is flexed at the command of the will, 

 but it acts to a greater extent and with more violence than the will had 

 prompted. There is an accumulation of excitability in the muscle, and 

 the impulse Avhich should have called it into natural and moderate action 

 causes it to take on a spasmodic one. 



But although the peculiar action constituting stringhalt is developed 

 tlorough the muscles, it must not be taken for granted that the cause 

 of the affection lies in the muscles themselves, but rather in the tissues 

 through which the muscular action is exerted, namely, the nerves ; and, 

 as a general rule, it may be stated that disease of the nerves themselves, 

 more particularly of the great Ischiatic nerve, or of the canal through 

 which they pass from the spinal cord, will be found to exist. Either the 

 nerve at its origin is softened and discoloured, or its egress from the ver- 

 tebral canal is through a roughened and irritating foramen instead of a 

 smooth and pohshed one. 



Many ingenious but contradictory theories have been advanced in order 

 to account for this peculiarity of gait. What muscles are concerned ? 

 Cleai'ly those by which the thigh is brought under the belly, and the 

 hock is flexed, and the pasterns are first flexed and then extended. But 

 by which of them is the eff'ect principally produced ? What muscle, or, 

 more properly, what nerve is concerned ? Instead of entering into any 

 useless controversy on this point, a case shall be related, and one of the 

 most interesting there is on record : the author was personally cognisant 

 of every particular, 



Guildford, first called Roundliead, and then Landlord, was foaled in 



