320 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



when the true nature of the trouble has become apparent it is usually 

 too late to resort to the remedial measures which, if duly forewarned, 

 a skillful practitioner might have employed. We are fully per- 

 suaded that but for the loss of the time wasted in the treatment of 

 purely imaginary ailments very many cases of bone spavin might be 

 arrested in their incipiency and their victims preserved for years of 

 comfort for themselves and valuable labor to their owners. 



Treatment. — To consider a' hypothetical case: An early discovery 

 of lameness has been made ; that is, the existence of an acute inflam- 

 mation^of periostitis — ^has been detected. The increased tempera- 

 ture of the parts has been observed, with the stiffened gait and the 

 characteristic pose of the limb, and the question is proposed for solu- 

 tion. What is to be done ? Even with only these comparatively 

 doubtful symptoms — doubtful with the nonexpert — we should direct 

 our treatment to the hock in preference to aijy other joint, since of 

 all the joints of the hind leg it is this which is most liable to be 

 attacked, a natural result from its peculiarities of structure and 

 function. And in answer to the query, What is the first treatment 

 indicated? We should answer rest — emphatically, and as an essen- 

 tial condition, rest. Whether only threatened, suspected, or posi- 

 tively diseased, the animal must be wholly released from labor, and 

 it must be no partial or temporary quiet of a few days. In all stages 

 and conditions of the disease, whether the spavin is nothing more 

 than a simple exostosis, or whether accompanied with the complica- 

 tion of arthritis, there mu.st be a total suspension of effort until, the 

 danger is over. Less than a month's quiet ought not to be thought 

 of — ^the longer the better. 



Good results may also be' expected from local applications. The 

 various lotions which cool the parts, the astringents which lower the 

 tension of the blood vessels, the tepid fomentations which accelerate 

 the circulation in the engorged capillaries, the liniments of various 

 composition, the stimulants, the opiate anodynes, the sedative prepa- 

 rations of aconite, the alterative frictions of iodin — all these are 

 recommended and prescribed by one or another. We prefer counter- 

 irritants, for the reason, among many others, that by the prompt- 

 ness of their action they tend to prevent the formation of the bony 

 deposits. The lameness will often yield to the blistering action 

 of cantharides, in the form of ointment or liniment, and to the alter- 

 ative preparations of iodin or mercury. If the owner of a " spav- 

 ined" horse really succeeds in removing the lameness, he has ac- 

 complished all that he is justified in hoping for; beyond this let 

 him be well persuaded that a " cure " is impossible. 



For this reason, moreover, he will do well to be on his guard 

 against the patented "cures" which the traveling horse doctor may 

 urge upon him, and withhold his faith from the circular of the ao'ent 



