42 SPRAINS. 



TREATMENT FOR SPRAIN OF THE CHECK LIGAMENT.— 

 See page ii et seq. 



SPRAIN OF THE BACK TENDONS.— The perforans tendon is, 

 as a rule, sprained at the point where it passes over the fetlock. 

 If the injury be severe, the swelling will generally extend to the 

 perforatus. There is usually a great deal of swelling above the 

 fetlock joint, acoompanied by heat, pain, and lam-eness. In the 

 early stages, before much swelling takes place, the seat of the 

 sprain may be detected by feeling the tendons with the fingers. 

 Unless the sprain is extremely slight, the exudation and extra- 

 vasated blood in the part will cause the tendons to assume, more 

 or less, a bowed appearance (Figs. 16 and 18, which may be 

 advantageously compared with Figs. 15 and 17). The "bow" 

 caused by sprain of the check ligament is naturally somewhat 

 higher up, than that induced by sprain of the perforans. In 

 both cases, though present, it is often so little prominent as to 

 escape notice except by a practised eye. " Sprain of the sheath 

 of the back tendons '' is a term sometimes applied to a slight sprain 

 of the perforans, in which there may be no lameness, only a little 

 thickening along the course of the tendons between knee and 

 fetlock. The use of this expression cannot but be regarded as an 

 ingenious effort to make light of a very grave accident; for how 

 can the sheath be sprained, without the tendon being seriously 

 involved at the same time? 



Place the fingers on the back tendons of a sound leg, and besides 

 being hard and comparatively thin, they will feel as if they were 

 hollowed out on the inner side of the leg. In a" limb, however, 

 which has suffered from sprain of the back tendons, they feel 

 round (like a rope) on the inside, as well as abnormally large and 

 soft, and are frequently " bowed." 



Professor Dick regarded rupture of some of the fibres of the 

 perforans tendon, as a frequent cause of navicular disease. It is 

 more probably a result than a cause of that complaint. 



TREATMENT FOR SPRAIN OF THE BACK TENDONS.— See 

 page 44 et seq. 



Sprain of the Fetlock Joint. 



When, after work, this joint is found to be swollen and hot, with 

 or without lameness, it is often difficult to discover the cause of 

 injury ; whether sprain, concussion, or a blow. When concussion 

 is alone to blame, the suspensory ligament and back tendons will 

 at first be in a normal condition, and the swelling probably will be 



