WOUNDS NEAR JOINTS. 91 



Uninjured, he must be considered sound. When the injury is 

 produced by the badness of his action, that injury constitutes the 

 unsoundness. His lordship then put the other parts of the case 

 to the jury, who found a verdict for the defendant." 



Although the foregoing dictum appears to settle the subject of 

 " cutting ■"' in a clearly defined manner, still, if the more recent 

 rulings on Holyday v. Morgan, 2nd Nov., 1858 (" Law Journal," 

 vol. 28, part 2, p. 9, New Series) and Coates v. Stephens (" Moody 

 and Robinson's Reports,'' vol. 2, p. 158), are taken into considera- 

 tion, it must be admitted that a horse should be regarded as un- 

 sound,., if he is less than reasonably fit for immediate use, for 

 instance, on account of his habit of cutting This would especially 

 apply to horses required for cross-country work, at which, animals 

 given to the fault in question might be most dangerous to ride. 

 Besides, a horse which requires the employment of special pre- 

 cautions, such as a peculiar method of shoeing, or the wearing of 

 '■ boots " to prevent him from cutting himself, could hardly be 

 deemed sound. I would therefore, in my capacity of veterinary 

 surgeon, pass, as sound, a horse which had marks of cutting, only 

 after finding that he did not " cut " during a searching trial, such 

 as a day's hunting, or a fairly long day's journey. 



Wounds on or near Joints. 



The great danger to be feared from these wounds is the forma- 

 tion of open joint, which is one of the most serious accidents that 

 can happen to a horse ; for the sufferer is apt tO' die from the 

 ensuing constitutional disturbance, and even if he recovers, there is 

 a strong probability that he will have a permanently stiff joint. 



These injuries usually occur on the knee, fetlock, or hock, and 

 are generally caused by falls, kicks, or by inexperienced persons 

 probing about a joint which has been hurt. No unnecessary 

 probing of a wound near a joint should be allowed on any account ; 

 for even a very slight extension of the wound may open the joint. 



SYMPTOMS. — If the joint has not been opened or severely in- 

 jured, the wound will have an ordinary appearance, except that 

 there may be a flow of synovia (joint oil), which may take place 

 from wounded synovial sacs without the joint having been pene- 

 trated. In a case of infla,med open joint, the discharge gets mere 

 and more unhealthy, . until at last, it beooines mixed with matter 

 (pus) and blood, and assumes a foetid odour. After two or three 

 days, the joint swells, is very painful, and high fever sets in. In 

 unfavourable cases, the animal dies from exhaustion, or at best, 

 recovers with a permanently stiff joint. 



