350 DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 
a day or two he betrays a little soreness, and this increasing he be- 
comes very lame again, to be furloughed once more, with the result 
of a temporary improvement, and again a return to labor and again 
a relapse of the lameness; and this alternation seems to be the rule. 
The leg being now carefully examined, a local periostitis is readily 
discovered at the point of the injury, the part being warm, swollen, 
and painful. What further proof is necessary? Is it not evident 
that a fracture has occurred, first superficial—a mere split in the 
bony structure, which, fortunately, has been discovered before some 
extra exertion or a casual misstep had developed it into one of the 
complete kind, possibly with complications? What other inference 
can such a series of symptoms thus repeated establish ? 
The prognosis of fracture of the tibia, as a rule, must be unfavor- 
able. 
Treatment.—The difficulty of obtaining a union without shorten- 
ing, and consequently without lameness, is proof of the futility of 
ordinary attempts at treatment, but though this may be true in 
respect to fractures of the complete kind, it is not necessarily so with 
the incomplete variety, and with this class the simple treatment of 
the slings is all that is necessary to obtain consolidation. A few 
weeks of this confinement will be sufficient. 
With dogs and other small animals there are cases which may be 
successfully treated. If the necessary dressings can be successfully 
applied and retained, a cure will follow. 
FRACTURES OF THE HOCK. 
Injuries of the astragalus which had a fatal termination have been 
recorded. Fractures of the os calcis have also been observed, but 
never with a favorable prognosis, and attempts to induce recovery, 
as might have been expected, have proved futile. 
FRACTURES OF THE CANNON BONES. 
‘Whether these occur in the fore or hind legs, they appear either in 
the body or near their extremities. If in the body as a rule the 
three metacarpal or metatarsal bones are affected, and the fracture 
is generally transverse and oblique. On account of the absence of 
soft tissue and tightness of the skin, the broken bones pierce the skin 
and render the fracture a complicated one. The diagnosis is easy 
when all the bones are completely broken, but the incomplete fracture 
can be only suspected. 
Symptoms.—There is no displacement, but excessive mobility, crep- 
itation, inability to sustain weight, and the leg is kept off the ground 
by the flexion of the upper joint. 
