746 VETERINAEY HYGIENE 



The bedding for a capped hock case is the same as that 

 for a capped elbow ; in both the horse should be made to lie 

 down on the opposite side of the body. This is accom- 

 plished by using two head ropes, one from each end of the 

 manger, and so arranged that one rope is much shorter 

 than the other. The horse is compelled to lie on that side 

 where the head rope is the shortest ; if, for example, the off 

 elbow is capped, he should lie on the near side, to effect this 

 the left head rope should be shorter than the right. Some- 

 times special pads are required to keep the elbow off the 

 ground. They should be large, circular, and fix around 

 the coronet. 



An injury outside the hock in the hollow between the 

 calcis and tibia is also caused by lying on the bare ground, 

 and its prevention is a question of sufficient bedding. When- 

 ever horses are seen marked on the outside of the hocks, 

 it is certain the bedding is insufficient. 



Horses that never lie down. — There are some horses that 

 never lie down, and such cases are not uncommon among 

 the heavier breeds. It is usual to associate these with 

 anchylosis of the spine, and that the animal fails to lie 

 down as he is conscious of the difficulty experienced in 

 rising. 



It is obvious that such horses do not get rested, and a 

 good night's rest is one of the essentials for working horses. 

 Mechanisms exist in the limbs which enable horses to 

 sleep in the erect position, but it was not intended these 

 should be always employed. It is not uncommon to find 

 that a horse which never lies down, may drop during his 

 sleep and is found in the morning unable to rise without 

 assistance. Further, in his struggles to rise he may injure 

 himself severely, perhaps fatally, as the spine not un- 

 commonly fractures through or near the anchylosed por- 

 tion. Such a fracture may occur not only as the result of 

 struggling, but at the moment the animal falls, for we have 

 known an anchylosed spine fracture at the moment a horse 

 was destroyed. 



As a measure of precaution, and in order to afford such 



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