74 MODERN FARRIEK. 



48. AVens. 



Sijmptoms. — AVens are usually a small, spongy, 

 fleshy substance, contained in a bag, and grow out 

 of various parts of the body. They are seldom 

 painful, grow very slowly, and, though a deformity, 

 very seldom causes lameness. Swellings which ap- 

 pear on the cap of the hock, and also on the point 

 of the elbow, are generally classed amongst wens. 



Causes. — These tumours generally arise from ac- 

 cidents ; but when they appear on both heels or el- 

 bows, they seem to be a spontaneous production. 



Cu?'e. — When wens are produced by blows and 

 contusions, it will in general be sufficient to wash 

 the part frequently with vinegar and water; but 

 when they are likely to suppurate, warm and soft- 

 ening fomentations are proper. Should the thick- 

 ness of the skin seem to retard their breaking, and 

 they appear full of matter, it will be necessary to 

 gpen them on one side with a lancet, after which 

 apply some digestive ointment. 



Mr. Gibson, in treating of wens, says, ' I was once 

 concerned in the case of a very fine horse that had a 

 large wen on the lower part of his neck, near the 

 windpipe, which was cut off v.ith a sharp instru- 

 ment. It grew from a small beginning, not bigger 

 than a walnut, to the bulk of a middle-sized melon, 

 without pain or inflammation ; but at last it became 

 troublesome, and affected the motion of his should- 

 ders. This substance, when it was cut off", appeared 

 to be no other than a mass of fungous flesh, a little 

 variegated in its colour, and probably proceeded 

 from a rupture of some very small tv/igs of the ju- 

 gular arteries, which, being enlarged by a continual 

 afflux of the blood, caused so great an eff*usion of 

 blood from several orifices, that it was with difficulty 

 stopped by the application of the actual cautery. 

 When wens are pendulous (he observes) and hang 



