FETLOCK JOINT. 



43 



Sprain of the Fetlock Joint. 



When this joint is found after work to be swollen and hot, with 

 or without lameness, it is often difficult to discover the cause of 

 injury : whether sprain, concussion, or a blow. When concussion 

 is alone to blame, the suspensory ligament and the back tendons 

 will at first be in a normal condition, and the swelling, I am in- 

 clined to think, will be confined to the synovial bursa which lies 

 between the suspensory ligament and the cannon bone, and which 

 may be felt in the form of a puffy swelling on each side of the 



Fig. 19. — Site of windgall caused by sprain of fetlock. 



fetlock by the forefinger and thumb when the hand is placed on the 

 joint, as in Fig. 19. By alternating the pressure with finger and 

 thumb, the fluid will be felt to pass through from one side to the 

 other. In health, no distension of this bursa Avill be presenc. As 

 an inflammatory swelling is liable to invade neighbouring parts, 

 the difficulty of finding out the exact seat of the injury will be in- 

 creased after a short time. 



In the more serious case of sprain, the vacant space between the 

 back tendons and suspensory ligament, just above the joint, may 

 also become filled with synovial fluid ; in other words, a windgall 

 may be formed. I venture to think that the sprain in these cases 

 is more often sprain of one or both of the lateral ligaments of the 

 joint (the outer one more frequently than the inner one) than of 



