402 DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 
no inconvenience. If they are caused by excessive tension of the joint 
the tumor develops rapidly, is tense, hot, and painful, and the animal 
is exceedingly lame. The patient stands with the joint flexed, and 
walks with short steps, the toe only being placed on the ground. 
When the tumor is large and situated upon the inside of the leg it 
may be injured by interfering, causing stumbling and inflammation 
of the sac. Rest generally causes the tumor to diminish in size, only 
to fill up again after renewed labor. In old cases the tumors are 
hardened, and may become converted into bone by a deposit of the 
lime salts. 
Treatment.—The large, puffy joints of suckling colts, as a rule, 
require no treatment, for as the animal grows older the parts clean 
up and after a time the swelling entirely disappears. 
When the trouble is from an injury, complete rest is to be obtained 
by the use of slings and a high-heeled shoe. Cold-water douches 
should be used once or twice a day, followed by cold-water bandages, 
until the fever has subsided and the soreness is largely removed, 
when a blister is to be applied. 
In old windgalls, which cause more or less stiffness, some relief 
may be had by the use of cold-compress bandages, elastic boots, or the 
red iodid of mercury blisters. Opening the sacs, as recommended 
by some authors, is of doubtful utility, and should be adopted only 
by the surgeon capable of treating the wound he has made. Enforced 
rest until complete recovery is effected should always be insisted 
upon, since a too early return to work is sure to be followed by 
relapse. 
SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK. 
Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and, as 
a rule, affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast work, as trotters, 
runners, steeplechasers, hunters, cow ponies, and those that inter- 
fere, are particularly liable to this injury. 
Causes—Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with dis- 
eases which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular dis- 
ease, contracted heels, sidebones, chronic Jaminitis, etc., are predis- 
posed to sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a mis- 
step, stumbling, or slipping, which results in the joint being extended 
or flexed to excess. The same result may happen where the foot is 
caught in a rut, a hole in a bridge, or in a car track, and the animal 
. falls or struggles violently. Direct blows and punctured wounds 
may also set up inflammation of the joint. 
Symptoms.—The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with the 
severity of the injury. If slight, there may be no lameness, but simply 
a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground 
and the joint is twisted a little. In more severe cases the joint swells, 
is hot and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the 
