332 



and embarrass the surgeon, and sometimes the expedient is tried of 

 aggravatiug the symptoms by way of intensifying their significance, 

 and thus rendering them more intelligible. This has been sought by 

 requiring the patient to travel on soft i^lowed ground and compelling 

 hiiu to turn on the affected leg as a pivot, with other motions calculated 

 to betray the locality of the pain. 



It is our conviction that lameness of the shoulder will in many cases 

 disappear with no other prescription than that of rest. Provided the 

 lesions occasioning it are not too severe time is all that is required. But 

 the negation of letting alone is seldom accepted as a means of doing 

 good, in the place of the active and the positive forms of treatment. 

 Tiiis is in accordance with a trait of human nature which is universal, 

 and is unlimited in its appliciitions. Hence th^re must he something 

 doue. In mild cases of shoulder lameness, then, the indications are 

 water, either in the cold douche or by showering, or by warm fomenta- 

 tions. Warm wet blankets are of great service ; and iu addition, or as 

 alternative, anodyne liniments, camphor, belladonna, either iu the form 

 of tiucture or the oils, are of benefit, and at a later period stimulating 

 friction with suitable mixtures, sweating liniments, blistering com- 

 pounds, etc., will find their place, and, finally, when necessity demands 

 it, the firing iron and the seton. 



The duration of the treatment must be determined by its effects and 

 the evidence that may be offered of the results following the action of 

 the reparative process. But the great essential condition of cure, and 

 the one without v»hich the possibility of relapse will always remain as 

 a menace, is, as we have often reiterated iu analogous cases, rest, im- 

 peratively rest, irrespective of any other prescriptions with which it 

 may be associated. 



Sprain of the elbow muscles.— This injury, which fortunately is not 

 very common, is mostly encountered in cities, among heavy draught 

 horses or rapidly driven animals which are obliged to travel, often 

 smooth shod, upon slippery, icy, or greasy pavements, where they are 

 easily liable to lose their foothold. The region of the strain is the pos- 

 terior part of the shoulder, and the muscles which are affected are those 

 which occupy the space betweeu the posterior border of the scapula 

 and the posterior face of the arm. It is the muscles of the olecranon 

 which give way. 



The symptoms are easily recognized, especially when the animal is 

 in action. While at rest the attitude may be normal, or by close scru- 

 tiny a peculiarity may perhaps be detected. The leg may seem to drop ; 

 the elbow may appear to be lower than its fellow, with the knee and 

 lower part of the leg flexed and the foot resting on the toe, with the 

 heel raised. Such an attitude, however, may be occasionally assumed 

 by an animal without having any special significance. But when it be- 

 comes more pronounced on ])utting him in motion the fact acquires a 

 symptomatic value, and this is the case m the present instance. A 



