200 VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



Symptoms. — Lameness; the horse goes more or less short in his gal- 

 lop; swelling above or in front of the fetlock, elastic and protruding at 

 first, but finally becoming hard, shifting from one part to the other if 

 both are affected. In the early stages of the attack the horse may have 

 fever, the inflammation be acute, and the animal very lame. 



Treatment. — The treatment in the early stage consists in rest, aided 

 by warm applications containing opium, as: 



Laudanum. | ss. 



Water 1 pint. 



A dose of physic: 



Aloes 3 V. 



Ginger 3 ij. 



Molasses enough to form a ball 



and a long rest with low diet and quiet will often complete a cure. 



RING BONES. 



Definition. — Are bony deposits upon the pastern bones, forming a 

 more or less complete ring around the bone. (Fig. 104.) False ring bone 

 is simply an exostosis on the middle or upper part of the long pastern 

 bone (Fig. 103), which may, if very large, cause temporary lameness 

 while forming, but cannot be considered an unsoundness. 



True ring bone is quite a serious matter, and the degree of lameness 

 does not always depend upon the size of the deposit. Sometimes but 

 little evidence of its formation may appear upon the front of the bone, 

 and the continuity of the ring may be defective. When chiefly upon the 

 sides of the bone, the lameness is usually less than when upon the front, 

 and precedes or accompanies the formation of the bony deposit, disap- 

 pearing when anchylosis is complete. "When the deposit is just above 

 the coronet, it is called low ring bone. Fig. 105; when nearer the middle 

 of the pastern, high ring bone, Fig. 104. 



Etiology. — Ring bones are the result of inflammation originating in 

 the extremities of the bones or synovial membranes of the articulations 



