368 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



a means of doing good, in the place of the active and the positive 

 forms of treatment. This is in accordance with a trait of human 

 nature which is universal, and is unlimited in its applications; hence 

 something must be done. In mild cases of shoulder lameness, then, 

 the indications are water, either in the cold douche or by showering, 

 or by warm fomentation. Warm, wet blankets are of great service ; 

 in addition, or as alternative, anodyne liniments, camphor, bella- 

 donna, either in the form of tincture or the oils, are of benefit, and 

 at a later period stimulating friction with suitable mixtures, sweat- 

 ing liniments, blistering compounds, subcutaneous injections over the 

 region of the muscle of 1^ grains of veratrin (the variety insoluble 

 in water) mixed in 2 drams of water, 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 effect's 

 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 which the possibility of relapse will 

 always remain as a menace, is, as we have often reiterated in analo- 

 gous cases, rest, imperatively rest, irrespective of any other prescrip- 

 tions with which it may be associated. 



SPRAIN OF THE ELBOW MUSCLES. 



Causes. — This injury, which fortunately is not very common, is 

 mostly encountered in cities among heavy draft 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 posterior part of the 

 shoulder, and the affected muscles are those which occupy the space 

 between the posterior border of the scapula and the posterior face of 

 the arm. It is the muscles of the olecranon which give way. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms are easily recognized, especially when 

 the animal is in action. While at rest the attitude may be normal, 

 or by close scrutiny 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 sig- 

 nificance, but when it becomes more pronounced in motion the fact 

 acquires a symptomatic value, and this is the case in the present 

 instance. A rapid gait becomes quite impossible, and the walk, as 

 in some few other diseases, becomes sufficiently characteristic to war- 

 rant a diagnosis even when observed from a distance. An entire 

 dropping of the anterior part of the trunk becomes manifest, and no 

 weight is carried on the disabled side in consequence of the loss of 



