88 WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 



Wlieii brushing is due to bad shoeing, or to the pi-eseuce of 

 mange insects, removal of the cause will be the best preventive 

 measure. 



TREATMENT. — In slight cases, the application of seme anti- 

 septic dressing (p. 67) will be sufficient; but if the wound be in- 

 llicted on a previous " brush," the part should be poulticed until the 

 scab comes off, and then treated with an antisej^tic, such as tanno- 

 form, iodoform, friars' balsam, eucalyptus oil, or the carbolic acid 

 and camjDhor application given on page 69. The same course 

 should be observed when much inflammation is present. 



Speedy Cutting 



is the act done by a horse when he wounds the inside of one leg, 

 near the knee, or hock, by, respectively, the other fore or hind 

 foot. In the vast majority of cases, the injury is inflicted on a fore 

 leg; although I have known horses speedy cut on both hind legs 

 just below the hocks. Some make a compromise between brushing 

 and speedy cutting by hitting themselves on the side of the cannon 

 bone midway between the knee and the fetlock. 



The term " interfering " is sometimes applied to both brushing 

 and speedy cutting. 



The seat of the injury is generally a little below the knee ; al- 

 though it may be just above it on the internal lateral prominence 

 of the lower extremity of the bone of the fore-arm (the radius). 

 These lateral processes are particularly prominent in blood horses. 

 Their office is to give attachment to the lateral ligaments of the 

 knee joint. Speedy cutting is generally met with among well-bred 

 animals with free action. The wound is usually inflicted in the 

 gallop, or when the horse is dancing about from restlessness. 

 Horses which turn theiir toes out, are particularly prone to speedy 

 cutting as well as to brushing (see remarks under that heading). 

 I have seen a case in which the liability to speedy cutting was due 

 to a "knock-kneed" condition of the affected limb, which, 

 naturally, brought it into the line of action of the opposite foot. 

 As the toes were not turned out, I had no remedy to suggest, except 

 that the animal should not be used at fast paces. Horses, as a rule, 

 do not speedy cut in the gallop, until they begin to tire. 



Before purchasing a horse which we may require for fast work, 

 we should examine its legs to see if there be the marks of old speedy 

 cuts, and also whether there be any signs — as, for instance, the hair 

 being rubbed — of the animal having worn a speedy cutting boot. 

 A bony deposit of more or less extent Avill often be found on and 

 around the spot at which a previous speedy cut has occurred. 



Speedy cutting is not only a cause of disfigurement ; but is also 



