460 OPERATIONS—DIVISION OF THE TENDONS. 
The edge of the knife is now toward the shoulder or haunch, and the 
vessels lie upon that side of the blade which is nearest to the bone. The 
operator now, by a simple motion of the hand, turns the cutting edge 
of the knife toward the posterior part of the limb. A man at the same 
moment takes hold of the leg and forces it 
straight; the perforans tendon is thus dragged 
against the knife, while the suspensory ligament 
and vessels are safe at the back of the blade. 
If the tendon be nat divided without any effort 
on the part of the operator, he makes a sawing 
motion as he withdraws the knife. A slight 
sensation or a feeble sound often testifies the 
separation of the structure. 
Often, if the contraction be not chronic, the 
strength of the extensor pedis muscle, when 
released from its opponent’s force, is sufficient 
to straighten the fetlock. When the disease, 
however, has existed for any time, it requires 
some violence to break down the false attach- 
ments which have been formed. For this purpose the knee of a strong 
mah is placed in front of the fetlock-joint, and the horse’s foot is, by 
pulling hard, drawn forward. 
The wound is then closed with a pin and twisted thread, as in neu- 
rotomy, and the animal, till junction is perfected, should be kept in the 
stable, as the shoe to be worn afterward is not favorable to progression. 
One week after the operation, a shoe, with a projecting piece at the toe 
about one inch and a half long, is to be put on the foot of the diseased 
limb. Five weeks after this, the shoe is to be replaced by one having 
the projecting point twice as long; and this last is to be worn till union 
THE TENDON DIVIDED. 
THE SHOE TO BE WORN ONE WEEK THE SHOE TO BE PUT ON SIX WEEKS AFTER 
AFTER DIVISION OF THE TENDON DIVISION OF THE TENDON, AND TO BE WORN 
HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. UNTIL UNION IS PERFECTED. 
is supposed to be perfected —till the expiration of three months at 
least. 
The horse, after having the tendon divided, is said to be as strong as 
