166 STABLE MANUAL AND HORSE DOCTOR 



accompanied as they often are by a fracture of some 

 ligament, seldom admit of a permanent cure. In the early 

 stages, an emollient poultice of linseed and bran should be 

 applied to strains of the leg, whatever part of it may be 

 injured, and the horse's diet should be changed. If by this 

 treatment the horse apparently recovers the use of the limb 

 without pain, the high-heeled shoe may be removed, but he 

 should not be put to work for some weeks ; he should be 

 turned into a loose box, or straw 3^ard — and indeed this 

 should be done in every serious case of local injury or 

 internal disease. 



Let it be borne in mind that these general hints are not 

 intended to supersede the calling in of a qualified veterinary 

 surgeon, but in order that, in extreme cases, an intelligent 

 promptitude in the horseman or rider may take the place of 

 helpless inactivity. 



We will now say a few words respecting the treatment 

 of Broken Knees, an accident which may occur at almost 

 any moment, and which requires immediate attention. The 

 first thing to be done is carefully to wash awpiy with a soft 

 sponge and warm water every particle of sand or gravel 

 which may have insinuated itself into the wound, of whicli 

 you will then be better enabled to ascertain the depth. It 

 occasionally will happen, in a ver}^ severe fall, that the 

 capsule of the joint is lacerated, and in this case an effusion 

 of a limpid and somewhat glutinous liquid, called " synovia " 

 or "joint-oil," will take place. This may not be very per- 

 ceptible at first, particularly if the opening into the joint be 

 small ; but so soon as your attention is directed to it, you 

 should lose no time in sending for the best veterinary 

 surgeon within reach, as you will scarcely be able to manage 

 the case by yourself. Where the laceration of the capsule 

 is extensive, the probability is that the subsequent inflam- 

 mation will ultimately produce abscess, ulceration of the 

 cartilages of the joint, and, if the horse live long enough, 

 destruction of the bones which compose it. But should the 

 opening into the joint be small, the object you must keep in 

 view is to preserve it accurately closed until nature shall 

 have had sufficient time to eftect its union by granulations. 

 For this purpose a heated iron, of proper dimensions, is 

 usually employed, and the edges of the opening being 

 cauterised, the eschar thus formed and the subsequent 

 swelling contribute to close the opening for some days. 



