CHAP, n SPLINT. '577 



The most important factor in their origin is inheritance, which can 

 be traced in a very large percentage of cases. 



Concussion is no doubt the chief exciting cause, as the prevalence of 

 splints would appear to have increased with the higher development of 

 what is now regarded as fashionable action, and with the hardness and 

 resistance of our roads. Blows inflicted on the shin of one limb by 

 the foot of the other may also induce them. 



Splints do not always occasion lameness ; when they do so it is 

 either the result of inflammation in the bone and its covering, or of 

 mechanical interference with the growth of the tendons and ligaments 

 behind the limb. The degree of lameness is not always in proportion 

 to the size of the splint. Very small ones may excite acute lameness, 

 while large ones, when placed in a forward direction may develop 

 without producing an}^ at all. The most serious and lasting lameness 

 from this cause arises where the excrescence encroaches on the knee 

 and interferes with the play of the joint. 



It is not always easy to decide whether a splint is causing lameness or 

 not. In determining this point the age of the animal must be taken into 

 account. Old horses comparatively seldom suffer from splint lameness. 

 If when the affected part is pressed upon the horse suffers pain and 

 snatches away the leg, and if at the same time the limb is moved 

 somewhat stiffly from the knee, and there is no other obvious cause of 

 the defective movement, the case may be dealt with as one of splint 

 lameness. 



Treatment. Rest, and the application of hot bandages for a few days, 

 and a dose of physic in the meantime, are usually sufficient to subdue the 

 existing pain and lameness. When, however, this is not the case, the part 

 should be blistered once, or oftener, at intervals of ten days. Obstinate 

 cases must be met by firing, or the insertion of a seton over the 

 growth, or by cutting through the covering of the bone. These opera- 

 tions will require the services of the qualified veterinarian, and should 

 not be attempted by the amateur. 



POLL EVIL is, as the term implies, a disease of the upper part of the 

 neck, immediately behind the setting on of the head. In past years, 

 when stables and stable doors were low, and bridles and head stalls were 

 heavier than they are now, this was a very common ailment in horses, 

 and especially those of the heavy breed. The disease consists in an 

 inflamed and swollen condition of the tissues of the "poll," which in 

 the majority of instances results in the formation of an abscess. The 

 mischief is usually the result of mechanical injury. This may be 

 brought about by horses "hanging back " when tied up in the stable, 

 by wearing heavy bridles, by striking the poll against the manger while 

 picking up food from beneath it, or against the wall when cast in the 

 stable, or in falling over when rearing. In some cases it is the result 

 of blows inflicted by sticks and heavy whips, and less frequently it 

 follows upon sprain and laceration of the muscles of the poll, resulting 

 from horses pitching forward on their head. 



Symptoms. The symptoms presented in this disease are first marked 



p P 



