88 WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 



only be a temporai-y measure ; for the pressure of the tape, if 

 continued, will be apt to leave a mark on the hair. Blackwell's 

 guards (Fig. 33) are very useful with horses which brush on the 

 coronet. 



When brushing is due to bad shoeing, or to the presence of 

 mange insects, removal of the cause will be the best preventive 

 measure. 



TREATMENT. — In slight cases, the application of some anti- 

 septic dressing (p. 67) will be sufficient; but if the wound be 

 inflicted on a previous " brush," the part should be poulticed 

 until the scab comes off, and then treated with an antiseptic, such 

 a« tannoform, iodoform, Friars' balsam, eucalyptus oil, or the 

 carbolic acid and camphor application given on page 69. The 

 same course should be observed when much inflammation _is 

 present. 



Speedy Cutting 



is the act done by a horse when he wounds the inside of one leg, 

 near the knee, or hock, by, respectively, the other fore or hind 

 foot. In the vast majority of cases, the injury is inflicted on a fore 

 leg; although horses have been known to speedy cut on both hind 

 legs just below the hocks. Some make a compromise between 

 brushing and speedy cutting by hitting themselves on the side of 

 the cannon bone midway between the knee and the fetlock. 



The term " interfering " is sometimes applied to both brushing 

 and speedy cutting. 



The seat of the injury js generally a little below the knee ; 

 although it may be just above it on the internal lateral prominence 

 of the lower extremity of the bone of the fore-arm (the radius). 

 These lateral processes are particularly prominent in blood horses. 

 Their office is to give attachment to the lateral ligaments of the 

 knee joint. Speedy cutting is generally met with among well-bred 

 animals with free action. The wound is usually inflicted in the 

 gallop, or when the horse is dancing about from restlessness. 

 Horses which turn th&ir toes out, are particularly prone to speedy 

 cutting as well as to brushing (see remarks under that heading). 

 I have s£"?n a case in which the liability to speedy cutting was 

 due to a ' knock-kneed " condition of the affected limb, which, 

 naturally, brought it into the line of action of the opposite foot. 

 As the toes were not turned out, I had no remedy to suggest, except 

 that the animal should not be used at fast paces. Horses, as a rule, 

 do not speedy cut in the gallop, until they begin to tire. 



Before purchasing a horse required for fast work, examine its 

 legs to see if there be the marks of old speedy cuts, and also 



