230 



The Care of Animals 



raised about an inch, the inside calk being lower, in 

 order to throw most of the weight on the outside of 

 the joint. After the acute inflammation has subsided, 

 a sharp blister should be applied, covering an area of 

 at least three inches in diameter over the spavin A 

 "red blister" is usually preferred. The blister may 

 cause the exostosis to increase in size for a time, but 

 this is not to be feared. The blister 

 may be repeated in three or four weeks. 

 After the blister has been applied, a run 

 at pasture is excellent, the high-heel 

 shoe being left on. In bad cases, it is 

 often a good plan to "fire" the spavin 

 at once. In firing a spavin, the usual 

 plan is to "feather" or "line" fire 

 clear around the joint ; then to put a 

 few punctures in the region of the 

 bunch, care being taken not to open 

 the joint. The essentials to success, in 

 treating spavins, are counter- irritation 

 and rest. A cured spavin is one in 

 which the inflamed joint is firmly 

 welded tegether by the bony bunch or 

 exostosis, so there is no motion in the 

 joint. This stops all irritation, and, as a result, the 

 horse goes without limping. A spavined horse is 

 always unsound, and an expert can detect such an 

 animal, even though a "cured" one, by seeing the ani- 

 mal move. Spavins are more successfully treated in 

 young animals than in old. In some cases, spavins 

 resist all forms of treatment and the horse remains 



Fig. 44. Bone-spavin, 

 as shown on bones 

 of the hock-joint. 



