31.6 THE HORSE. 



good, and nothing can be relied on but trie conjoint use of pressure 

 and cold applications. The best lotion is the following : — 



Take of Tincture of Afnica 3 ozs. 



Muriate of Ammonia 2 " 



Methylated Spirit of Wine ... 4 " 



Water 3 pints. Mix. 



Capped elbow is precisely similar in its nature to capped 

 hock, and must be treated in the same way. It is also known by 

 the name of capulet. 



OP STRAINS. 



The fibres op muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and the 

 FASCIA covering them, are all liable to be overstretched, and more 

 or less mechanically injured. This is called a strain, the symptoms 

 of which are similar to the inflammation of the part occurring 

 ideopathically. They are heat, swelling, and pain on pressure or 

 movement, shown by flinching in the one case, and lameness in the 

 other. In some cases there is considerable effusion of blood or 

 serum, the former occurring chiefly in the muscles, and the latter 

 among the torn fibres of the tendons or ligaments. The symptoms 

 and treatment will depend upon the part injured, which will be 

 found described under the following heads ; but in most cases an 

 embrocation composed of equal parts of laudanum, olive oil, spirit 

 of turpentine, and hartshorn, will be beneficial if applied after the 

 first active inflammation has subsided. 



STRAIN OF THE BACK AND LOINS. 



When a young horse has been hunted or ridden with hounds 

 over any kind offence, he is very apt to over-exert himself in his 

 awkward attempts to clear the obstacle, and next day he will often 

 show a stiffness of the loins and back, which is seated in the large 

 muscles connecting the pelvis with the thorax. He is said to have 

 "ricked his back," in the language of the stable, and if the mis- 

 chief is confined to the muscles alone, he may generally be per- 

 manently cured, though he will be more liable to a return than an 

 animal which has never suffered from any accident of the kind. 

 If, however, the spinal cord is injured, either from fracture of the 

 vertebrae, or from effusion of blood or serum pressing upon it, the 

 case is different, and a perfect cure is seldom obtained. It is, 

 however, very difficult to form a correct diagnosis between the one 

 case and the other, and the treatment may generally be conducted 

 with the hope that the more important organ is uninjured. When 

 there is complete palsy of the hind extremities, so that the horse 

 can neither feel nor use them in the slightest degree, the case ia 

 hopeless. For the management of the strain of the loins, a full 

 bleeding should be adopted, as it generally happens that the horse 



