860 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 
Appreciating now the dangers associated with all wounds of articu- 
lations, however simple and apparently slight, and how serious and 
troublesome are the complications which are liable to arise during 
their progress and treatment, we are prepared to understand and 
realize the necessity and the value of early and prompt attention 
upon their discovery and diagnosis. 
Treatment—For simple bruises, like those which appear in the 
form of broken knees or of carpitis, simple remedies, such as warm 
fomentations or cold-water applications and compresses of astringent 
mixtures, suggest themselves at once. Injuries of a more complicated 
character, as lacerations of the skin or tearing of soft structures, will 
also be benefited by simple dressings with antiseptic mixtures, as 
those of the carbolic-acid order. The escape of synovia should sug- 
gest the prompt use of collodion dressings to check the flow and pre- 
vent the further escape of the fluid. But if the discharge is abundant 
and heavily suppurative, little can be done more than to put in prac- 
tice the “expectant” method with warm fomentations, repeatedly 
applied, and soothing, mucilaginous poultices. Improvement, if any 
is possible, will be but slow to manifest itself. The most difficult of 
all things to do, in view of varying interests and opinions—that is, 
in a practical sense—is to abstain from “ doing” entirely, and yet in 
the cases we are considering we are firmly convinced that noninter- 
ference is the best and wisest policy. 
In cases which are carried to a successful result the discharge will 
diminish by degrees, the extreme pain will gradually subside, the 
convalescent will begin timidly to rest his foot upon the ground, and 
presently to bear weight upon it, and perhaps, after a long and tedi- 
our process of recuperation, he may be returned to his former and 
normal condition of usefulness. When the discharge has wholly 
ceased and the wounds are entirely healed, a blister covering the 
whole of the joint for the purpose of stimulating the absorption of 
the exudation will be of great service. If, on the contrary, there is 
no amelioration of symptoms and the progress of the disease resists 
every attempt to check it; if the discharge continues to flow not only 
without abatement but in an increased volume, and not alone by a 
single opening but by a number of fistulous tracts which have succes- 
sively formed; if it seems evident that this drainage is rapidly and 
painfully sapping the suffering animal’s vitality, and a deficient vis 
vite fails to cooperate with the means of cure—all rational hope of 
recovery may be finally abandoned. Any further waiting for chances, 
or time lost in experimenting, will be mere cruelty and there need 
be no hesitation concerning the next step. The poor beast is under 
sentence of death, and every consideration of interest and of human- 
ity demands an anticipation of nature’s evident intent in the quick 
and easy execution of the sentence. 
