40 



WPEAIN8. 



■\vlieii the liet'l is uiisuji[ini'tcd ; foi- iustaiice, wljcii the hnisc puts 

 Ills tue uu 11 stoiic ni' .small mound nf hardened earth. 



Sprain of tlie eheek ligament e(jjistitutes what is eouiuioiily ealled 

 sprain or ela[i of tlie b^H'k ^uews. 



SYMPTOMS OF Sl'IiAIN i)V THE OHECK LIGAMENT.— As 



sprain of this ligament usually oeeurs at its junction with the 

 [lerforans tendon, there will be mure or less swelling at the upper 

 half of the leg between the knee aird fetlock. Soon after the 

 accident, the ligament becomes hot, tender, and swollen. The 

 condition may be [lerceived by passing the fingers over the part 

 that lies between the jjack tendons and the cannon bone, and 

 extending from immediately below the knee to about one-third 

 of the wa)' down towards tlie fetlock. The seat of injury may be 

 readily determined from observing that the back tendons and 



Fig. 14. — Heavy draught. 



suspensory ligament are unaffected in the fir.st instance. In a day 

 or two the back tendons, viewed laterally, assume a more 

 or less " bowed " a])peai'ance, Ijy reason of the exudation 

 invading tliem. In mild cases of injury to this lia'ament, the 

 symptoms are heat and fulness of the part just below the knee, 

 with only a trifling degree of lameness. In severe cases, there 

 is well-marked lameness: and the horse, wlien standing, rests his 

 toe on the ground in order to throw the injured ligament into a 

 state of rest. 



After a bad sprain of the check ligament, a jiermanent thicken- 

 ing, somewhat in the form of a knot, is often found at the point 

 where the ligament joins the tendon, about three inches below the 

 knee. The existence of such a condition materially detracts from 

 the value of the animal. At otlier times, there is a jiemianent 

 fulness of the ligament just biclnw the knee, generallv more on 

 the inner than on tlie outer side of the leg, without anv appearance 

 of a knot on the back tendons. 



