DIBXABS8 AND TREATMENT OF TBB H0B8B: 198 



MNGBONE. 

 There are two kinds of ringbones-— the high-up ringbone and 

 the low-down ringbone. The high-up ringbone aflfects the pastern 

 joint, the low-down ringbone affects the coffin joint. A ringbone 

 is a bony growth around the pastern or coffin joints. They may 

 affect the front legs, but are more often found on the hind ones, 

 and there are cases where the whole four legs were affected at the 

 same time. 



Causes. — Like most other bone diseases, it runs in some 

 breeds of horses to be affected with ringbones, that is to say it is 

 hereditary, so you see the necessity of breeding sound animals. 

 But there are other well-marked causes, such as hard or fast 

 work ; or an injury or severe sprain of the joint will bring it on. 

 A common cause in colts is allowing their feet to grow too long; 

 or, in foals, by allowing them to follow their mother when she is 

 working, which is very hard on foals; sometimes by a horse 

 running a nail in his foot, and if it runs up far enoujch to wound 

 the coffin joint, it will cause the joint to become diseased and 

 ;hrow out a ringbone ; or it may come on by a horse standing on 

 9ne leg while he is very lame in the other. 



Symptoms. — They are very plain. There is lameness, fol- 

 lowed by an enlargement around whichever of the joints are 

 affected. Now, if it is the pastern joint, the enlargement will 

 be about half way between the fetlock joint and the hoof; this is 

 the form known as high-up ringbone. If It affects the coffin joint, 

 the enlargement will be noticed bulging out around the top of the 

 hoof, and this form of the di— aae Is known as a low-down 

 ringbone. The parts around th« ringboos will be hot, and the 

 lameness will increass as ths diseass y sss •«. The peculiarity of 

 ringbone lameness is that tbs mtJimai takes a longer step on the 

 affected leg and puts his heel A cw tfvti akse, that he is more 

 lame when starting: aX tKaa elW he fai drirea a piece and gets 

 warmed up. 



Trefttment*— The treetm«8it« hi scow aaeee, b »«t attended 

 with ^ory great tuccese, althott^, fa edi«»« It b rvry eaccessful, 

 depending, of course, da h«tr imwii dteeiee tk^st Is g^oing cm in 

 the joint The treatment h timllar to spavin— 4he jnain object 

 heing to set up what is known as anchylosis of the diseased joint, 

 that is, to have the bones forming the joint become united solid 

 to ea^ other. As sooa as this takes fimc*, the lam« 



