324 CAPPED ELBOW. 
Then, as to the cure: Such a tumor, when recent, is hot and somewhat 
painful; at this time, keep it wet with cold water or with a lotion formed 
of spirits of wine and water in equal parts; when the tenderness has 
subsided, procure some men who want employment and have strong 
arms ; set these fellows to rub the cap of the hock constantly, and the 
tumor, in three or four days, or in less time, will have disappeared. 
Should the enlargement, however, have become hard, the knife then 
must be employed; the horse must be cast, and the substance must be 
carefully dissected out without opening the sac. This 
being done, remove none of the skin; leave that bag- 
ging about the hock; simply treat it with a lotion 
composed of chloride of zinc one grain, to water one 
ounce, and the integument will contract. Ultimately 
there will remain no more than will be required to 
cover the part, whereas, if any be taken away, the 
Shee rrom benzarne Wound, which in these cases never heals quickly, will 
Capra Hock Hisneew be very long before it closes, and, in proportion to 
pac the skin which has been removed, there will remain a 
lasting blemish. 
There is another caution we have to give the reader before leaving 
this subject ; let no advice persuade, no temptation induce him to punc- 
ture, seton, or merely to open capped hock. The membrane lining the 
swelling is, when diseased, so extremely sensitive that the writer has 
known the lives of animals endangered by these so-called remedies. The 
author, moreover, never knew the enlargement to be much reduced by 
these means; neither has it been the author’s lot to witness much good 
follow the application of blisters. No; extirpation is the only remedy, 
and it should be accomplished without puncturing the sac; this is as 
safe an operation as there is in the entire range of veterinary surgery. 
There is neither nerve, muscle, membrane, vessel, nor any important 
structure to avoid; with ordinary care, the removal is most easy. There 
is but one thing annoying connected with the business, and that is, the 
length of time which the healing of a necessary wound, made upon a 
point of motion, almost invariably occupies. 
CAPPED ELBOW. 
This is very common, especially among cart-horses; it is attributed to 
the calkin of the fore foot; to the point of the hind hoof; or to a 
stable floor, thinly bedded, and composed of sharp stones. So, like- 
wise, blows with the butt-end of the whip will induce it; but the harness 
probably guards the elbow, which therefore can be struck only in excep- 
tional cases. 
