360 



HEALTH AND DISEASE 



amounting to several pounds in weight. Capped elbow seldom causes 

 lameness, but it is very unsightly. 



Treatment. Where the injury is but slight, a dose of physic and 

 repeated fomentation of the part will be all that is needed to disperse the 



swelling; but where it is 

 severe and the enlargement 

 considerable, it will most 

 likely require to be laid 

 freely open and the con- 

 tained fluid evacuated. This 

 should be followed by the 

 injection of a small quan- 

 tity of tincture of iodine 

 into the sac, and the re- 

 peated daily application of 

 weak carbolic solution and 

 due regard to cleanliness. 

 If the tumour is hard and callous, it should undergo a course of blistering 

 or be dissected out; or if hanging by a narrow neck, it must be cut off, 

 with due precautions against haemorrhage or bleeding. Horses which 

 habitually injure the elbow should wear an elbow -pad (fig. 385) round 

 the pastern, or a bandage may be wound round the foot when they are 

 in the stable and at liberty to lie down. 



Fig. 385. Pad to prevent Capped Elbow. 



This condition is analogous to that already described as capped elbow. 

 It consists of a prominent sometimes pendulous enlargement, the result 

 of an inflamed and swollen state of the skin and subcutaneous connective 

 tissue. It differs, however, from the last-named affection in the less fre- 

 quent formation of matter within it and a greater disposition to become 

 hard and callous. It is more commonly seen in cart-horses than in the 

 lighter breeds, and in cattle the growth often attains to an immense size. 



Causes. Capped knee is invariably the result of violence applied to 

 the part, mostly following upon a fall or repetition of falls, when the skin 

 and parts beneath become contused and swollen. In some horses it results 

 from a habit of falling on the knee in the act of lying down, while others 

 contract it by striking the manger or the log at the end of the halter in 

 the act of pawing. Kicks and blows may also induce it. 



Symptoms. In some cases capped knee is of slow growth, especially 

 where the part continues to receive a succession of slight contusions, as in 



