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It is necessary to be on one's guard in purchasing a horse, to see 

 that he has never sustained an injury of this kind. We do not necessarily 

 consider a shght roughness of the skin over the joint, as constituting 

 unsoundness, except when it interferes with the action of the animal. It 

 must, at the same time, be borne in mind that a somewhat severe injury does 

 not always leave a large scar ; and the joint, therefore, may be much 

 weakened, and the progression of the animal rendered insecure, by what 

 appears as a very slight visible blemish. As our readers know full well, any 

 blemish of the knee reduces the value of a horse very materially. 



Lastly, we may turn our attention to the consideration of the treatment 

 of broken knees. In the first place, the injury should be bathed with tepid 

 water, until all the grit and dirt have been gently but thoroughly removed. 

 The animal should then, when the injury is at all severe, be tied up, and fed 

 on laxative food. In such instances it is advisable also to give a gentle 

 aperient, say three drachms of aloes, and to place the animal in a cool, airy 

 box, with the head tied up. The borax ointment, we have already 

 mentioned, is a valuable local application. After anointing the wounded 

 surface, a strip of lint soaked in carbolised oil (i in 25) may be placed over the 

 wound ; over this a bandage may be gently applied, with the view of keeping 

 the application in contact with the wound. The dressing should be repeated 

 once daily. When the injury is very severe, slings are necessary, as the 

 animal, becoming exhausted, may be unable to remain standing until the 

 healing process is completed. When the joint is open, and the oil which 

 lubricates it escapes, the injury is necessarily much more grave. 



Sometimes the bones of the knee are actually broken in the fall. These 

 cases seldom recover. The tendon on the front of the joint is sometimes 

 much lacerated and bruised, and this also is a source of additional danger to 

 our patient. Warm water fomentations are not to be applied to the wound, 

 except when the joint becomes immensely swollen and inflamed. In 

 some instances, sutures have been employed for sewing together the divided 

 skin, when this covering is alone injured, and torn in the fall. They are, 

 however, not much good as a rule, because, when the animal bends his knee, 

 they usually burst, and the rent is made worse than before. With the view 

 of stimulating the healing of the wound, if it appears sluggish, the antiseptic 

 ointment of eucalyptus, carbolic acid, and iodoform is very useful. It also 

 stimulates the growth of the hair afterwards. The application of caustics 

 to the so-called proud flesh is an unnecessary performance. 



