FRACTURE OF THE BONES OF THE FORE EXTREMITY 



247 



bone. Before the bandages and splints are applied it is most essential 

 that the leg be brought into its natural position. The toe and the knee 

 should be in line, and there should be no deviation either to the right 

 or to the left in the course of the fractured bone. 



A series of bandages soaked in a mixture of the white of egg and 

 starch should be applied up the leg from the 

 coronet as far along the arm as it is possible, 

 and then the iron splint designed by Bour- 

 gelat (fig. 337) should be adjusted over them. 

 Of course the hollow of the heel and all 

 other depressions in the course of the limb 

 will be filled in with tow, so that the pressure 

 of the bandages may be equalized. Should no 

 such splint be accessible, then wooden splints 

 cut to the form and length of the limb must 

 be employed. 



FRACTURE OF THE KNEE-BONES 



This is comparatively rare. When it does 

 occur it is mostly associated with broken 

 knees, and assumes the form of a compound 

 fracture, complicated with inflammation of 

 the joint and damage to tendons which pass 

 over it. 



Fractures here are attended with great pain 

 and suffering and much constitutional dis- 

 turbance. There is free discharge of synovia 

 or "joint oil", inability to support weight on 

 the affected limb, and considerable swelling. 

 In other than animals of considerable value 

 for stud purposes the result of treatment, 

 however successful it may be, will not be such 

 as to compensate for the time and trouble which these cases demand. 

 The knee invariably suffers irreparable damage, and the animal remains a 

 cripple for the rest of his life. 



Where treatment is resorted to, the horse must be placed in slings, 

 and splints and bandages employed to maintain the joint in a state of rest, 

 while at the same time provision should be made in the bandaging for the 

 free discharge of matter from the wound in the knee, which must be treated 

 on antiseptic principles. 



Fig. 337. Iron Splint for Fractures of 

 the Fore-limb 



A, A, Screws for adjusting the length 

 of the Splint 



