218 Diseases of the Horse. 



the fore leg the horse puts the heel down first ; in this case 

 a thin-heeled bar shoe should be used. If, on the other 

 hand, he puts the toe down first and endeavors to walk on it, 

 this shows that the ring bone is in the hind limb and on the 

 sides or back of the pastern. He should then wear a high- 

 heeled shoe. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE HOCK JOINT— BOG SPAVIN — BLOOD 



SPAVIN. 



The hock joint in the horse corresponds to the ankle joint 

 in man, and is subject to a class of diseases called spavins. 

 Of these, bog-spavin is the result of inflammation of the 

 structures of the joint. It is, in its acute forms, a tense fluc- 

 tuating swelling, accompanied by heat and tenderness, and 

 producing decided lameness. In a more chronic form it 

 seems to be but a dropsical swelling of the joint, and may exist 

 "without apparently interfering wdth the gait. 



The tendency in the acute form is toward ulceration of 

 the cartilage of the joint, and a consequent permanent stififeu- 

 ing of its motions. In chronic spavin, which is usually of a 

 rheumatic character, there is a slow depositing of bony sub- 

 stance in and around the joint, which also leads to perma- 

 nent impairment of the functions. 



Blood spavin is strictly a distention of one or more of the 

 veins in the neighborhood of the hock, caused by the pressure 

 of the swelling impeding the flow of the blood. 



Treatment. — The treatment of acute spavin should be by 

 liberal doses of opium, to relieve pain, placing the horse in 

 the slings to take the pressure off" the joint, fomenting this 

 with hot w^ater, giving a moderate dose of aloes, and adding 

 an ounce of saltpetre to the water, morning and night. 



As soon as these measures have conquered the inflamma- 

 tion, setons and blisters to the hock, and rubbing it freely 

 with ointment of iodide of mercury (No. 162), will prevent 

 the remaining lameness. 



