375 



proper shoeing. The foot is to be prepared for tlie shoe by shortening 

 the toe as mucli as jjossible, leaving the heels high; or if the foot is 

 prepared in the usual \vay the shoe should be thin in front, with thick 

 heels or high calks. For the hind feet a long-heeled shoe with calks 

 seems to do best. Of course, >Yhen i^ossible, the causes of knuckling 

 are to be removed, but since this can not always be done, the time ma}^ 

 come when the patient can no longer perform any service, ijarticularlj' 

 in those cases where both forelegs are affected, and it becomes neces- 

 sary either to destroj" the animal or secure relief by surgical inter- 

 ference. In such cases the tendons, between the fetlock and knee, 

 may be divided for the purj)ose of securing temporary relief. Firing 

 and blistering the parts responsible for the knuckling maj^, in some 

 instances effect a cure ; but a consideration of these measures properlj'^ 

 belongs to the treatment of the diseases in which knuckling simply 

 appears as a sequel. 



WIXD-GALLS. 



Joints and tendons are furnished with sacs containing a lubricating 

 fluid called synovia. When these sacs are overdistended, by reason 

 of an excessive secretion of synovia, thej^are called wind-galls. Thej^ 

 form a soft, puffy tumor about the siz« of a hickorj'^ nut, and are most 

 often found in the foreleg, at the upper part of the fetlock joint, 

 between the tendon and the shin-bone. When they develoj) in the 

 hind leg it is not unusual to see them reach the size of a walnut. 

 Occasionallj^ they appear in front of the fetlock on the border of the 

 tendon. The majority of the horses are not subject to them after colt- 

 hood is passed. 



Causes. — Wind-galls are often seen in young, overgrown horses, 

 where the body seems to have outgrown the ability of the joints to sus- 

 tain the weight. In cart and other horses used to hard work, in trot- 

 ters with excessive knee action, in hurdle racers and hunters, and in 

 most cow-ponies there is a predisposition to wind-galls. Street-car 

 horses and others used to start heavy loads on slippery streets are the 

 ones most apt to develop wind-galls in the hind legs. 



Symptoms. — The tumor is more or less firm and tense when the foot 

 is on the ground, but is soft and compressible when the foot is off the 

 ground. In old horses wind-galls generallj" develop slowly and cause 

 no inconvenience. If they are caused by excessive tension of the joint 

 the tumor develops rapidly, is tense, hot, and painful, and the animal 

 is exceedingly lame. The patient stands ^^'iththe joint flexed, Avalks 

 with short steps, the toe only being placed on the ground. When the 

 tumor is large and situated upon the inside of the legit may be injured 

 by interfering, causing stumbling and inflammation of the sac. Rest 

 generally causes the tumor to diminish in size, only to All up again 

 after renewed labor. In old cases the tumors arc hardened, and may 

 become converted into bono by a deposit of the lime salts. 



