3868 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 fomentations. 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 14 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 effects 
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, vest, 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 
