Special Injuries of Bones, Joints and Muscles. 343 



treated by soothing measures, and if the bones or jointa 

 become involved, treat as advised for the respective in 

 juries. 



To prevent, let the feet be kept a httle bare on the innei 

 side and the shoes slightly leveled off, but avoid lowering 

 the foot or thinning the shoe on the inner side. On the 

 contrary a very slight thickening of the shoe on the inside 

 is sometimes beneficial, by straightening up the fetlock 

 and removing it from danger. If this fails wear a leather 

 boot with a projecting rim, or a simple woolen bandage. 

 I] I weak subjects benefit is often derived from bringing 

 into a better condition of health. 



FEACTUBES OF THE PASTERN BONES. 



These are exceedingly common in horses running on 

 liard ground or even on soft movable sand. They are of 

 aU degi-ees of severity, from a simple split without separa- 

 tion of the'brokcn pieces, to a complete shattering of the 

 bone into a dozen fragments or more. Simjile fractures 

 are usually oblique, or even vertical, the bone being split 

 in two nearly equal lateral halves, but transverse breaks 

 are also seen. 



Symptoms. In shattered specimens the case is easily 

 made out and the victim should be destroyed at once. In 

 cases of detachment sufficient to allow grating when the 

 bones are moved (flexed and extended) there is as little 

 difficulty. But in cases of splitting without detachment, 

 the parts being held firmly together by the strong fibrous 

 investments, the case is liable to be mistaken. There is 

 the fact that the injury occurred suddenly during action, 

 the horse at once showing lameness, more extreme on hard 

 ground; there is no injury to ligaments nor tendons; but 

 pain when the pastern is fully flexed, and with or without 

 sweUing on the bone there is a Hne of tenderness which 

 can easily be traced with the fingers and corresponds to the 

 fracture. 



Treatment. Place the patient in slings, and if grating 



