DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 401 
Lastly, knuckling is produced by disease of the suspensory liga- 
ment or of the flexor tendons, whereby they are shortened, and by 
disease of the fetlock joints. (See p. 372.) 
Treatment.—In young foals no treatment is necessary, unless there 
is some deformity present, since the legs straighten up without 
interference in the course of a few weeks. “When knuckling has com- 
menced, the indications are to relieve the tendons and ligaments by 
proper shoeing. The foot is to be prepared for the shoe by shorten- 
ing the toe as much as possible, leaving the heels high; or if the foot 
is prepared in the usual way the shoe should be thin in front, with 
thick heels or high calks. For the hind feet a long- -heeled shoe with 
calks seems to do best. Of course, when possible, the causes of knuck- 
ling are to be removed; since this can not always be done, however, 
the time may come when the patient can no longer perform any 
service, particularly in those cases in which both fore legs are 
affected, and it becomes necessary either to destroy the animal or 
obtain relief by surgical interference. In such cases the tendons be- 
tween the fetlock and knee may be divided for the purpose of obtain- 
ing temporary relief. Firing and blistering the parts responsible for 
the knuckling may, in some instances, effect a cure; but a considera- 
tion of these measures belongs properly to the treatment of the 
disease in which knuckling appears simply as a sequel. 
WINDGALL. 
Joints and tendons are furnished with sacs containing a lubricating 
flnid called synovia. When these sacs are overdistended by reason 
of an excessive secretion of synovia, they are called windgalls. They 
form a soft, puffy tumor about the size of a hickory nut, and are 
most often found in the fore leg, at the upper part of the fetlock 
joint, between the tendon and the shin bone. When they develop in 
the hind leg it is not unusual to see them reach the size of a walnut. 
Occasionally they appear in front of the fetlock on the border of the 
tendon. The majority of horses are not subject to them after colt- 
hood has passed. (See also p. 355.) 
Causes—Windgalls are often seen in young,.overgrown horses, 
in which the body seems to have outgrown the ability of the joints to 
sustain the weight. In cart and other horses used to hard work, in 
trotters with excessive knee action, in hurdle racers and hunters, and 
in most cow ponies there is a predisposition to windgalls. Street-car. 
horses and others used to start heavy loads on slippery streets are the 
ones most liable to develop windgalls in the hind legs. 
Symptoms.—The tumor is more or less firm and tense when the foot 
is on the ground, but is soft and compressible when the foot is off the 
ground. In old horses windgalls generally develop slowly and cause 
36444°—16——26 
