290 VETERINARY HOMCEOPATHY. 



taken in time very satisfactory results may be looked for from the 

 application locally and internal administration of Symphytum W; 

 locally by means of rubbing in a lotion and the application of a 

 compress of the same; the lotion to consist of one part of the 

 remedy to three of water, and internally the usual dose, in both 

 cases using mother tincture. A horse with ringbone of the fore 

 limbs puts his foot to the ground heel first, much like it does when 

 suffering from laminitis or inflammation of the sensitive laminae 

 of the foot; but it may be distinguished from laminitis by the fact 

 that the heat is confined to the upper part of the foot, whereas in 

 laminitis the heat and pain are generally diffused over the whole 

 of the hoof; when the ringbone developes in the hind limbs the 

 horse generally puts the toe to the ground first. In all such cases 

 rest is imperative, and we strongly advocate the removal of all 

 four shoes and allowing the horse to stand on a bed of saw dust 

 or moss peat a foot thick. 



We shall now turn our attention to lameness of the hind limbs 

 other than those already dealt with, and will commence with the 

 STIFLE; this joint is formed by the femur or thigh bone, the tibia 

 or shank bone and the patella or knee cap of the human subject; 

 inflammation of the ends and articular surfaces of these bones 

 generally accounts for lameness of the stifle joint, and is very 

 often due to what is described as the rheumatic diathesis; in other 

 words the animal is susceptible to rheumatism, and this joint is a 

 weak spot upon which the disease centres itself. In order to 

 prevent as much as possible the articular surfaces of these bones 

 from rubbing upon one another and so producing great pain, the 

 horse stands with the leg flexed and resting on the toe; when the 

 animal attempts to move, he drags the foot along on the point of 

 the toe, and will not put the foot down flat if it can possibly be 

 avoided; there is generally marked swelling and some heat in the 

 region of the stifle joint. 



One of the best remedies for this condition is Rhus toxicodendroji 

 H in the usual proportions 1-8 in the form of liniment, applied 

 with plenty of friction, and internally administered in the third 

 decimal attenuation ; both being repeated at least three times a 



day. 



The HOCK of the hor.se which corresponds with the ankle joint 

 of the human subject, is by reason of its complexity the seat of 



