DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 439 



lameness of sidebones the toe of the foot first strikes the ground and 

 the step is shorter than natural. The subject comes out of the stable 

 stiff and sore, but the gait is more free after exercise. 



Since the deposit of bony matter often begins in that part of the 

 cartilage where it is attached to the coffin bone, the diseased process 

 may exist for some time before the bony growth can be seen or felt. 

 Later, however, the cartilage can be felt to have lost its elastic 

 character, and by standing in front of the animal a prominence of the 

 coronary region at the quarters can be seen. Occasionally these 

 bones become so large as to bulge the hoof outward, and by pressing 

 on the joint they so interfere with locomotion that the animal becomes 

 entirely useless. 



Treaiment.—^o soon as the disease can be diagnosed active treat- 

 ment should be adopted. Cold-water bandages are to be used for a 

 few days to relieve the fever and soreness. 



The improvement consequent on the use of these simple measures 

 often leads to the belief that the disease has recovered ; but with a 

 return to work the lameness, fever, etc., reappears. For this reason 

 the use of blisters, or, better still, the firing iron, should follow on the 

 discontinuance of the cold bandages. 



But in many instances no treatment will arrest the growth of these 

 bony tumors, and as a palliative measure neurotomy must be resorted 

 to. Generally this operation will so relieve the paiti of locomotion 

 that the patient may be used for slow work ; but in animals used for 

 fast driving or for saddle purposes, the operation is practically use- 

 less. Some years ago at Fort Leavenworth I unnerved a number of 

 cavalry horses that were suffering from sidebones, and the records 

 show that in less than seven months all were more lame than ever. 

 Since a predisposition to develop sidebones may be inherited, ani- 

 mals suffering from this disease should not be used for breeding 

 purposes unless the trouble is known to have originated from an 



accident. 



RINGBONE. 



A ringbone is the growth of a bony tumor on the ankle. This 

 tumor is, in fact, not the disease, but simply the result of an in- 

 flammatory action set up in the periosteum and bone tissue proper of 

 the pastern bones. (Plate XXXIV, fig. 1.) (See also p. 313.) 



Causes. — Injuries, such as blows, sprains, overwork in young, unde- 

 veloped animals, fast work on hard roads, jumping, etc., are among 

 the principal exciting causes of ringbone. Horses most disposed to 

 this disease are those with short, upright pasterns, for the reason that 

 the shock of locomotion is but imperfectly dissipated in the fore legs 

 of these animals. Improper shoeing, such as the use of high calks, 

 a too great shortening of the toe and correspondingly high heels, 

 predispose to this disease by increasing the concussion to the feet. 



