CHAPTEE IV. 



SPEAINS, BEtllSES, ETC. 



Peom the amount of stress to which the several muscles, 

 ligaments, and tendons of the horse are subjected, in the 

 field and on the road, we need not wonder that sprain is one 

 of the most common cases we have to treat ; and from the 

 mischief they not unfrequently occasion, this subject is 

 worthy of our special attention.- It has been said that " a 

 bad sprain is as bad as a broken bone ; " this remark, how- 

 ever, does not hold good in the equine species. 



Sprain may be said to consist in an overstretching of the 

 part (be it muscle, tendon, or ligament) to such a degree as 

 to cause rupture of some of the fibres of which it is com- 

 posed, in consequence of which inflammation is set .np, 

 and effusion takes place, producing enlargement around the 

 part. 



The reason why sprains take so long to recover is, the 

 lacerated fibres have to be absorbed, and new ones formed in 

 their place, or, as is often the case in repeated sprain of the 

 same part, their place is filled up by organised lymph, leaving 

 a permanent thickening. 



Causes. — Natural weakness of the part sometimes predis- 

 poses to it. It may arise from whatever exposes the part to 

 inordinate exertion, as, for instance, slipping on ice or on 

 a rolling stone, awkward stepping, galloping on rough or 



