HUNTERS 



though usually of the former character. What 

 is termed a " deferred " fracture, is one in which 

 the displacement occurs at a subsequent date 

 to the fracture, but it is not a common form 

 of injury in the horse. Comminuted fractures 

 are those in which the bone is broken into a 

 number of fragments, an injury that occasionally 

 occurs to hunters through severe concussion, 

 the bone involved being the pastern — commonly 

 known as "split pastern." Sometimes fracture 

 of this bone is an "oblique" one, more rarely 

 "transverse." The heavy falls which hunters 

 so frequently experience occasionally lead to 

 a fracture of either the cervical vertebrae, or 

 some other portion of the vertebral column, 

 and injuries of this kind usually prove fatal 

 at the time, or else necessitate destruction. It 

 may be accepted as true in a general sense, 

 to which there are certain exceptions, that most 

 of the fractures incidental to hunters and other 

 horses are not satisfactory to treat, due to a 

 large extent to the unfavourable conditions in 

 relation to keeping the parts in a state of rest; 

 in fact, to do so is often an impossibility 

 Moreover, the absence of flesh (muscle) below 



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