EINGBONES. . 289 



ment nor an obstruction to the motion of the limb, need receive any 

 recognition whatever. Other modes of treatment for splints are rec- 

 ommended and practiced which belong strictly to the domain of oper- 

 ative veterinary surgery. Among these are to be reckoned actual 

 cauterization, or the application of the fire iron and the operation of 

 periosteotomy. These are frequently indicated in the treatment of 

 splints which have resisted milder means. 



The mode of the development of their growth; their intimacy, 

 greater or less, with both the large and the small cannon bones ; the 

 possibility of their extending to the back of these bones under the sus- 

 pensory ligament; the dangerous complications which may follow 

 the rough handling of the parts, with also a possibility, and indeed a 

 probability, of their return after removal — these are the considera- 

 tions which have influenced our judgment in discarding from our 

 practice and our approval the method of removal by the saw or the 

 chisel, as recommended by certain European veterinarians. 



RINGBONES. 



This term forms the designation of the exostosis which is found on 

 the coronet and in the digital and phalangeal regions. The name is 

 appropriate, because the growth extends quite around the coronet, 

 which it encircles in the manner of a ring, or perhaps because it often 

 forms upon the back of that bone a regular osseous arch, through 

 which the back tendons obtain a passage. The places where these 

 growths are usually developed have caused their subdivision and 

 classification into three varieties, with the designations of high, 

 middle, and low, though much can not be said as to the importance of 

 such distinction. It is true that the ringbone or phalangeal exostosis 

 may be found at various points on the foot, in one case forming a 

 large bunch on the upper part and quite close to the fetlock joint; in 

 another around the upper border of the hoof, or perhaps on the 

 extreme front or on the very back of the coronet. The shape in 

 which they commonly appear is favorable to their easy discovery, 

 their form when near the fetlock usually varying too much from the 

 natural outlines of the part when compared with those of the opposite 

 side to admit of error in the matter. (See also page 413.) 



A ringbone when on the front of the foot, even when not very 

 largely developed, assumes the form of a diffused convex swelling. 

 If situated on the lower part, it will form a thick ring, encircling 

 that portion of the foot, immediately above the hoof; when found on 

 the posterior part, a small, sharp osseous growth somewhat project- 

 ing, sometimes on the inside and sometimes on the outside of the 

 coronet, may comprise the entire manifestation. 



Cause. — As with splints, ringbones may result from severe labor in 

 early life, before the process of ossification has been fully perfected; 

 H. Doc. 795, 59-2 19 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



