26 SPRAINS. 



find that the skin has become greatly thickened, and that it must necessarily 

 form a permanent bandage, in accomj)lishing which office, the benefit to be 

 derived from a blister a^ipears to chiefiy consist. I never employ a blister 

 to sprains below the knee and hock ; because I find that I get better results 

 by pressure (p. 45), and hand-rubbing (p. 664), and without thickening oi 

 the skin, which is a condition that must more or less impede motion, and may 

 give rise to adhesions. The efl'ects of pressure can be stopped, at any 

 moment, by removing the bandage ; but those of a blister cause permanent 

 structural alterations which may or may not be b3neficial. In sprains of 

 parts, like the shoulder, stifle, and back, to which we cannot conveniently 

 apply pressure, we should rely chiefly on hand-rubbing (massage). 



Firing (p. 662) is said, by some authorities, to produce a good efl'ect in 

 old cases of sprains which have resisted other remedies. It afl'ords 

 permanent pressure on the part, by causing contraction. The portion of skin 

 that has been burned by the firing iron becomes replaced by fibrous tissue, 

 the property of which is to contract, as we may see exemplified by the 

 " drawn " appearance of the skin of a person's neck or cheek which has healed 

 after having sufl'ered from a severe burn. Some of the benefit obtained in 

 many instances from firing is undoubtedly due to the absence from severe 

 work which it necessitates. Firing is a most valuable stimulant in hastening 

 the completion of inflammation in bone. 



GENERAL TREATMENT OF SPRAINS.— We should give rest, 

 as quickly and as completely as joossible, to the affected part. If 

 the injury is in one of the legs, and the animal cannot bring the 

 heel to the ground, we should apply a high-heeled shoe, like that 

 shown in Fig. 4. This pattern is very easy to make, it affords a 

 firm bearing to the foot, and has the great advantage that its heels 

 can be loweired from time to time with very little trouble. A high- 

 heeded shoe should of course be employed only in those cases to 

 which relief is given by alloAving a bearing to the heel while it is 

 raised off the ground. If it is not convenient or suitable to put 

 on this kind of shoe, a full supply of sawdust or similar material 

 should, if obtainable, be substituted for the ordinary straw bed- 

 ding, as the animal will be able to assume an easier position for 

 his sore leg on the former than on the latter. Care should be 

 tak&n that the sound limb is not injured by undue weight being 

 thrown on it, by reason of the jDrecautions adopted to place the 

 hurt leg at rest. As a rule, the use of slings (p. 680) is not 

 advisable in such cases, as their presence is apt to cause sores, to 

 interfere with staling and digestion, and to irritate the animal. 

 They may be necessary in severe lameness of a hind limb, because, 

 when thus affected, a horse will rarely lie down. 



If practicable, we should lose no time in applying pressure of a 

 thoroughly uniform nature (p. 45), and in all cases, we should 

 avail ourselves of the good effects of massage (p. G64). 



When we have a severe sprain in a horse which is '' full of corn," 

 it is well to give a dose of pliysic (preferably, eserine, p. 609), after 

 clearing out the lower part of the bowel with an enema or two. 



Laxative food, such as green grass, lucerne, carrots, bran and 



