684 OPEKATIONS. 



the ground, owing to the foot having lost its feeling, and that in 

 general the effects of neurotomy are much more efficacious and 

 durable in the case of horses used for slow work than in those 

 employed at fast paces. 



It appears from the foregoing considerations that the reason 

 why neurotomy of both feet is so much more liable to be followed 

 by unfavourable complications than that of a single foot, is that, 

 in the former case, the horse is without any indication to guide 

 him in regulating the amount of concussion which his feet can 

 safely bear, and is consequently liable to knock them about un- 

 necessarily ; but in the latter, from the fact of his going " level," 

 he does not (accident excepted) put more weight on the " un-nerved " 

 foot than he does on the one whose sense of feeling is intact. 

 Besides, he is specially liable to suffer from the ill consequences of 

 injuries which in his case are often greatly aggravated by uniij- 

 tentional neglect, owing to the absence of lameness. 



THE OPERATION.— In order to effect a rapid healing of the 

 wound, and to diminish as much as possible, the subsequent scar, 

 the operator, as regards his hands, instruments, and the skin of 

 the part, should strictly adopt, the antiseptic precautions described 

 on p. 70. It is well to use an Esmarch bandage and tourniquet 

 (p. 693), to keep the part in a bloodless condition, and thus facili- 

 tate the finding of the nerve, which will be a great assistance to 

 inexperienced operators, who are apt to become confused by a con- 

 tinued flow of blood. To anyone who is conversant with the 

 anatomy of the part and has a fair amount of self-possession, these 

 aids are in no way essential to success ; for the discovery of the 

 nerve to such a one is a. very easy matter. The hair should be 

 removed (with, for instance, a probe-pointed curved scissors, see 

 Fig. 177) from the site of the intended incision. 



After casting the horse with the hobbles on the right side, if 

 the operation has to be performed on a right foot, and vice versa, 

 remove the foot from its hobble and draw it forward by means 

 of a noose of stout webbing or cord passed over its pastern to 

 steady it. The nerve on the inside of the leg should be first 

 divided; because the wound will then escape contact with the 

 ground or bedding. An incision of about half an inch long, above 

 and just clear of the fetlock joint, and immediately over the front 

 edge of the back tendons, is all that is required. The readiest 

 method of making the incision is to pinch up between the fingers 

 a fold of skin just above the fetlock, so that the fold may lie across 

 the course of the nerve. An incision about half an inch in length 

 should now be made with a pair of rowelling scissors (Fig. 139 

 p. 336) across this fold of skin, in the direction of the length of 



