IX] 



SURGICAL DISEASES AND CONFORMATION 



107 



small pastern bone. It flexes the fetlock and 

 pastern joints, and, in the foreleg, the knee, but 

 in the hindleg extends the hock. 



When sound these tendons feel hard and 

 tense, and are hollow on the side nearest to the 

 opposite leg. If strained they feel large, round, 

 and soft. The perforans is usually sprained just 

 behind the fetlock joint. If the tendons are badly 

 sprained they will assume a bowed appearance. 

 There will be heat, pain, and swelling, and 

 consequent lameness, unless the tendons are 

 sprained very slightly. The perforans is more 

 often sprained, but if badly the inflammation 

 will extend back to the perforatus. 



These tendons are sprained by working horses 

 when too young, by hard and severe work on 

 hard roads, by jumping on sticky or hard 

 ground, and by overloading. Horses that are 

 tied in below the knee and the hock are liable to 

 sprain these tendons. (See P. 97^.) (For treat- 

 ment, see Sec. 421.) 



420. Sprain of Check Ligament. The check 

 ligament has its origin at the origin of the 

 suspensory ligament, passes down behind the 

 cannon bone, and joins the perforans tendon 

 half-way down the cannon. It thus forms a 

 direct connection between the cannon and the 

 coffin bone, and assists the suspensory ligament, 

 thus preventing too much obliquity of the pas- 

 tern, and also supports the weight of the limb. 



The suspensory and check ligaments are 

 brought into severe action when the fetlock joint 

 descends below its normal position, which can 

 be noticed when a foot is placed on the ground 

 at the walk. After the foot is on the ground the 

 flexor muscles normally draw the fetlock up 

 again by partially straightening the leg, and if 

 the ground is sticky the resistance offered to 

 removal of the leg may be great enough to sprain 

 one or other of these ligaments. When a horse 

 is moving normally on level ground, whenever a 

 foot comes to the ground the leg will be straight 

 and the flexor tendons will therefore be assisting 

 the ligaments ; but when any sudden irregu- 

 larity of the ground, or an accident, causes the 

 foot to reach the ground before the tendons are 

 ready, a sprain of the check ligament is likely to 

 occur. Hence this ligament is generally sprained 

 by a sudden shock upon the leg. Again, draught 

 horses, when going up hill, will, unless they 

 have calkins on the heels of their shoes, be very 

 liable to sprain this ligament. The steeper the 

 hill, the loriger the toe and the shorter the heel, 

 the farther will the heel have to drop to reach 

 the ground, and the greater will be the sprain 

 brought upon the check ligament. 



Symptoms. The injury is generally at the 

 junction of the check ligament and the perforans 

 tendon. Unless slight there will be lameness, 

 and pain on pressure. There will be heat and 

 swelling. The swelling will probably extend 

 from the knee to one-third way down the cannon, 



close behind the bone. At first, back tendons 

 will not be affected, this being a diagnostic symp- 

 tom of sprain to check ligament. Later, in- 

 flammation will move to these tendons, which 

 may also become bowed. In bad cases the horse 

 rests the toe on the ground. A permanent 

 thickening below the back of the knee or at the 

 junction of the check ligament and perforans 

 tendon may result. 



The subject of filled or puffed legs and pre- 

 vention of same has been discussed in Chapter 

 V., Sees. 209, 217, el seq. 



421. Treatment of Sprains of Back Tendons, 

 Ligaments and Fetlock Joints. The most reliable 

 and permanent treatment for these is removal of 

 the weight by using at once a high-heeled shoe, 

 in case of tendon or suspensory ligament injury. 

 If the latter be ruptured, the fetlock must be 

 kept up in its normal position by a shoe with a 

 long heel, to which a cross-bar is attached, covered 

 with a pad, on which the fetlock will rest. 



The injured parts, i.e. if tendon or ligament 

 from the knee to below the fetlock, must have 

 pressure bandages applied immediately, and the 

 pressure bandage and massage treatment, as 

 explained in Chapter V., Sees. 209, 217, et seqq., 

 resorted to entirely. If this system is adopted, 

 far better results will be obtained, in the 

 majority of cases, than from blistering or firing. 



422. Curb. A curb is a sprain of the cal- 

 caneo - metatarsal (calcaneo - cuboid) ligament, 

 which binds together the back of the hock joint. 

 It extends from the back of the point of the hock 

 (os calcis), passing over the cuboid bone, to the 

 head of the outer splint bone. The injury, 

 which results in a swelling, is generally four 

 to six inches below the point of the hock, i.e. 

 directly below the cuboid bone. (See P. 69.) 



Horses tied in below the hock, and those 

 with sickle hocks, i.e. hocks bent too much (see 

 P. 19c, 26fe, Tie), are most liable to curbs. A 

 curb is the result of severe work when young, 

 such as jumping, pulling heavy loads, galloping 

 over ploughed fields or sticky ground, etc. 



Symptoms. Generally lameness, pain oh 

 pressure. By viewing from both sides a lump 

 will be seen projecting. (See P. 95a.) In slight 

 cases this is not easily noticed. The perforatus 

 tendon of a sound hock will continue in a 

 straight line from the point of the hock nearly 

 to the fetlock ; a curb causes this tendon to 

 bulge out. A large head to the outer splint bone 

 must not be confounded with a curb. By look- 

 ing from the outer side, this large head may 

 look like a curb, but will not do so when viewed 

 from the inner. The best way to determine 

 whether it is a curb is to run the finger down 

 the tendon ; the head of a splint bone will not 

 interfere with the passage of the finger. Horses 

 inherit weaknesses ; therefore, curby parents 

 may produce horses liable to become curby. 



Treatment. High-heeled shoe, a good blister, 



