CAPPED KNEE—CAPPED HOOK. 391 
CAPPED KNEE. 
Capped knee, in the fore limb, answers to bog spavin in the hind leg; 
the diseases are alike in most respects. Both affect the principal ar- 
ticulation of a complicated joint; both may be provoked by the like 
causes; but the fore leg, being less exposed to shocks than the hinder 
member, must have been much abused before it could become thus 
deformed. 
Blows, also, are common originators of capped knee. This disorder 
is likewise peculiar for a course it takes. The fluid within 
the swollen joint is, upon excitement, secreted in such 
quantity as to tighten the enlargement. Ultimately it 
lames the horse, and at length bulges out, or points, after 
the manner of an abscess. If let alone, it would burst. 
Much of the surrounding parts would have to be absorbed 
or would be effectually destroyed before such a termina- 
tion could ensue. The life would be endangered, or a mae et NOG 
lasting blemish would be left behind. To prevent this, ee ee a 
the surgeon draws the skin to one side, and, holding the 
point of his lancet upward, opens the capped knee upon its lower sur- 
face. A quantity of synovia, more or less in a turbid state, escapes, 
and an open joint remains. For the treatment of this contingency, the 
reader must turn to “Open Joint.” (Jnjurtes.) 
Capped knee is, by certain persons, viewed as a trivial accident. Gen- 
erally, however, it is regarded in a more serious light, because it is more 
conspicuous than bog spavin. We also should object to it, because, 
while liable to the same changes as wind-galls, etc., it is also likely to 
expose the horse to an open joint. It is, like wind-galls and bog spavin, 
to be reduced by pressure, though sometimes pressure will call up aggra- 
vated symptoms. Rest is the best treatment; during the rest pressure 
may be safely applied. Pressure does not answer, however, while the 
limb is exposed to the irritation of work. The horse must be thrown 
up during treatment, and gently used after the animal has been patched 
up or “cured.” 
CAPPED HOCK. 
When an injury is formed near an important part, Nature is so 
conservative of her creature’s welfare that she always has some means 
ready to preserve the utility of the structure. Thus when, from exter- 
nal violence, the hock becomes capped, or a swelling like to that rep- 
resented in the following engraving ensues, to prevent the joint being 
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