758 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



difficulties ; if in a box a rope can be placed on the fore and 

 hind legs and the animal rolled over, when it rises at once. 

 The other method, and the one which must be practised in 

 a stall, is to pull the body back from the wall until the fore- 

 legs can be extended, when the animal gets up without 

 difficulty. 



A horse may be cast in a field by rolling into a ditch ; he 

 is as helpless on his back in a ditch as he is when cast in 

 his box. 



Old horses if cast are very liable to break the back. 



Stable Sprains. — There is one class of injury which a 

 horse is credited with inflicting on himself in the stable, 

 and that is a sprain. Though we do not deny a sprain of 

 the ligaments of the hip or stifle are possible, yet a sprain 

 of the suspensory or flexor tendons caused in the stable is 

 an utter impossibility, though invariably urged by those in 

 charge of the horse. There is a reason for the excuse, very 

 apparent to those whose duties have brought them in con- 

 tact with the class of man entrusted with the care of horses, 

 and who know the damage these horse guardians are 

 capable of inflicting on the pockets of their masters when 

 out at exercise and under no control. The question of 

 sprains is fully dealt with at p. 769. 



Injuries from hanging back in the stable when tied up 

 are not uncommon. Hanging back is a habit acquired by 

 shy and nervous horses, and might almost be regarded as 

 a stable vice, so persistent is it when once established. If 

 the head collar and collar shank do not break the horse 

 almost invariably comes down on to the points of the 

 hocks, and scrapes them raw on the ground. Once the 

 trick of hanging back is acquired, the horse had better be 

 kept in a box and never tied up. 



Diseases the Result of Bad Stable Management — and this 

 term is used in its most comprehensive sense — are 

 numerous. Lymphangitis, its causes and prevention, are 

 dealt with at p. 145. Colic and abdominal trouble is fully 

 considered in the chapter on feeding. Catarrh and pneu- 

 monia, skin diseases, fractures, wounds, and contusions, 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



