KNEE, FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. l8l 



Causes. Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with diseases 

 which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular disease, con- 

 tracted heels, side bones, chronic laminitis, etc., are predisposed to 

 sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a misstep, stumbling, 

 or slipping, which results in the joint being extended or flexed to excess. 

 The same result ma}' happen where the foot is caught in a rut, hole in a 

 bridge, or in a car track, and the animal falls or struggles violently. 

 Direct blows and punctured wounds may also set up the inflammation 

 of the joint. 



Symptoms. The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with the 

 severity of the injury. If slight there may be no lameness, but simply 

 a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground, and 

 the joint is twisted a little. In cases more severe the joint swells, is hot 

 and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the animal 

 to hobble on three legs. While at rest the leg is flexed at the joint 

 affected, and the toe rests on the ground. 



Treatment. If the injury is slight, cold-water bandages and a few 

 days' rest are sufficient to effect recovery. In cases where there is 

 intense lameness, swelling, etc., the leg should be placed under a con- 

 stant stream of cold water, as described in the treatment for quittor. 

 When the inflammation has subsided a blister to the joint should be 

 applied. 



In some cases, especially in old horses long accustomed to fast work, 

 the ligaments of the joints are ruptured, in whole or in part, and the 

 lameness may last a long time. In these cases the joint should be kept 

 completelj^ at rest; and this condition is best secured by the application 

 of the plaster of Paris bandages, as in cases of fracture. As a rule, 

 patients take kindly to this bandage, and may be given the freedom of 

 a roomy box or yard while wearing it. If they are disposed to tear it 

 off, or if sufficient rest can not otherwise be secured, the patient must be 

 kept in slings. 



In the majority of instances the plaster bandage should remain on from 

 two to four weeks. If the lameness returns when the bandage is re- 

 moved, a new one should be put on. The swelling, which always re- 

 mains after the other evidences of the disease have dissappeared, may be 

 largely dissipated and the joint strengthened by the use of the firing 

 iron and blisters. 



A joint once injured by a severe sprain never entirely regains its 

 original strength, and is ever after particularly liable to a repetition of 

 the injury. 



