41 

 t^ell rubbed in with the hand against the hair, wliich 

 should lastly- be smoothed down, and some of the 

 ointment then plastered on with a knife or spatula. 

 There is a kind of prevention to the horse's licking or 

 biting the part, by means of what is termed a cradle 

 round the neck. When this is not at hand, the head 

 should be tied up short to the rack for twenty-four 

 hours. In three or four days from its application, 

 when the part becomes dry and scurfy, a little lard 

 rubbed on will assist the falling olF of the scab and 

 the reproduction of the hair. 



- 



BREAKING DOWN. 



The accidental injury horses sometimes sustain, 

 called Breaking Down, is either total or partial. The 

 total, or complete breaking down, is a perfect rup- 

 ture of the back sinews, between the knee and fet- 

 lock, la this case the fetlock is brought to the 

 ground ; and though union may take place between 

 the divided ends, it is so incomplete as to render the 

 animal of little or no service. 



The partial breaking down, and which is the most^ 

 common, arises from a rupture of the suspending li- 

 gaments of the pastern [vide " Veterinary Outlines,'' 

 vol. ii. plate 8, where these ligaments are exhibited, 

 and from whence the nature of the injury may be 

 perfectly understood]. It is this accident that so fre- 

 quently happens to young horses in training. Here 

 likewise the pastern is brought almost to the ground, 

 but the line of back sinews remains complete, and 

 the general derangement of the limb is infinitely less 

 than in the former case. It is seldom, even in fnis 

 minor injury, that the cure is so complete as to leave- 



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