FRACTURES AND WOUNDS 



the knees and hocks materially adds to this 

 difficulty. 



Superadded to this, there seems to be not a 

 great deal of reparative power in connection 

 with the bones of the horse ; much less so, so far 

 as the author's experience goes, than in cattle. 

 What may be termed the cardinal signs of 

 fracture are: lameness, crepitation, pain on 

 manipulation, and swelling, any of which, or all, 

 may be absent, excepting perhaps lameness. 

 The most significant sign of a fracture is, of 

 course, crepitation, but in the majority of 

 instances it is a difficult matter to detect this in 

 a horse, as every practical veterinarian is aware. 

 This is due, in a large measure, to the mass of 

 muscular tissue clothing some of the bones, or 

 else to the sheltered position of such bones. 

 A typical example of an injury of this class is 

 afforded by the bones enclosed within the 

 hoof. In the situation last named, fractures 

 occasionally occur, but the diagnosis is neces- 

 sarily of a speculative nature. Even in 

 split pastern, the same trouble often con- 

 fronts one, and yet the bone occupies a very 

 superficial position. Injuries to the pelvic 



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