51 



shoulder was generally considered the seat of lameness; so, in the hind 

 leg, the hip is often pointed to, when the cause is really in some portion 

 of the limb below, thus showing that lameness in this part is by no 

 means easy to trace, as it may arise from muscular sprain, or from 

 some nervous derangement, such as sciatica, &c. So that before any 

 treatment is adopted, a qualiiied practitioner should be consulted, as 

 I have often seen a large surface of the skin permanently damaged by 

 the use of some fancy advertised quack nostrum, the animal having 

 rubbed the part after application, and thus destroyed the skin. When 

 certain that the lameness is in the hip, rest, with cold water irrigation, 

 for two or three hours, twice daily, is of great service. Blisters, 

 setons, and pitch charges are frequently, when desirable, of great 

 benefit. 



156. Windgall is a puffy elastic swelling of very common occurrence 

 in nearly all classes of animals, found at the knee and fetlock joints, 

 &c., and is caused by over secretion of Synovia from the Bursa Mucosa, 

 a fluid similar to joint oil. [See Plate IX. Nos. 16 and 19). Some 

 classes or stamps of animals are more prone to it than others. The 

 swelling may be brought on by overwork, or by putting the animal 

 to work too soon. It very rarely causes lameness, or in any way 

 interferes with the usefulness of the animal, but still it is very unsightly 

 and objectionable, and not easily removed. The treatment consists of 

 rest, and the application of a cold water, india-rubber, or adhesive 

 plaster bandage, and blistering ; also firing, when very large. In olden 

 times, the enlargement was supposed to contain wind, hence the name. 



157. Bog Spavin is found on the front and inner part of the 

 hock joint, {see Plate IX. No. 32,) and is of the same nature as wind- 

 gall, being an over-distension of the capsular ligament of the hock 

 joint, with synovia. It is mostly seen in cart horses — certain strains 

 of Clydesdales having a special tendency to it — and it rs frequently 

 found in young horses rising two years old, more particularly in over-fed, 

 forced animals. It very rarely occasions lameness, and sometimes 

 disappears without any treatment. If hard feeding is thought to be 

 the cause, it should be diminished, and the animal turned out to grass, 



