BLEEDING. 179 



which are so frequent, and often so painful, in the legs of the human being*. 

 The legs of the horse may exhibit many of the injurious consequences of 

 hard work, but the veins will, with one exception, be unaltered in structure. 

 Attached to the extremities of most of the tendons, and between the tendons 

 and other parts, are little bags containing a mucous substance to enable 

 the tendons to slide over each other without friction, and to move easily on 

 the neighbouring parts. From violent exercise these little bags are liable 

 to enlarge. Windgalls and thoroughpins are instances of this. There is 

 one of them on the inside of the hock at its bending: this sometimes 

 becomes considerably increased in size, and the enlargement is called a bog 

 spavin. A vein passes over this bag, which is pressed between the enlarge- 

 ment and the skin, and the passage of the blood through it is impeded ; 

 the vein is consequently distended by the accumulated blood, and the 

 distension reaches from this bag as low down as the next valve. This 

 is called a hlood-spavin. Blood-spavin then is the consequence of bog- 

 spavin. It very rarely occurs, and is, in the majority of instances, con- 

 founded with bog-spavin. 



Blood-spavin does not always cause lameness, except the horse is very 

 hard worked, and then it is doubtful whether the lameness should not be 

 attributed to the enlarged mucous bag- rather than to the distended vein. 

 Both of these diseases, however, render a horse unsound, and materially 

 lessen his value. 



Old farriers used to tie the vein, and so cut off altogether the flow of the 

 blood. Some of them, a little more rational, used to dissect out the bag 

 which caused the distension of the vein : but the modern and more pru- 

 dent way is to endeavour to promote the absorption of the contents of the 

 bag. This may be attempted by pressure long applied. A bandage may 

 be contrived to take in the whole of the hock except its point ; and a com- 

 press made of folded linen being placed on the bog-spavin, may confine the 

 principal pressure to that part. It is, however, very difficult to adapt a 

 bandage to a joint which admits of such extensive motion ; therefore most 

 practitioners apply two or three successive blisters over the enlargement, 

 when it usually disappears ; but unfortunately it returns again if any 

 extraordinary exertion is required from the horse. 



Of the wounds of veins, and their consequent inflammation, we have 

 spoken when describing the veins of the neck. The veins are selected in 

 preference to the arteries for the purpose of bleeding, because they are 

 more superficial and larger, and blood can be more easily and certainly 

 procured from them, and the flow of the blood can be more easily stopped. 



BLEEDING. 



This operation is performed with a fleam or a lancet. The first is the 

 common instrument, and the safest, except in skilful hands. The lancet, 

 however, has a more surgical appearance, and will be adopted by the vete- 

 rinary practitioner. A bloodstick, a piece of hard M'ood loaded at one end 

 with lead, is used to strike the fleam into the vein. This is sometimes 

 done with too great violence, and the opposite side of the coat of the vein is 

 wounded. Bad cases of inflammation have resulted from this. If the fist 

 be doubled, and the fleam is sharp and is struck with sufficient force with 

 the lower part of the hand, the bloodstick may be dispensed with. 



For general bleeding the jngular vein is selected. The horse is blind- 

 folded on the side on which he is to be bled, or his head turned well away; 

 the liair is smoothed along the course of the vein with the moistened 

 finger ; then with the third and Httle fingers of the left hand, which holds 



N2 



