752 
DISEASES OF THE HOCK. 
Prognosis is uncertain. The most favourable cases are those which 
have a visible cause, and which are of recent origin ; such often cease as 
soon as the local mischief disappears. In symptomatic stringhalt, the 
prognosis chiefly depends on the nature of the primary disease, though 
it should not be forgotten that the interference with movement some- 
times becomes permanent. In the absence of all apparent cause, 
prognosis is very uncertain, because it is never possible to say whether 
the methods of treatment at present known may or may not be successful, 
and treatment, therefore, becomes experimental. 
Treatment must, therefore, in any case partake more or less of the 
nature of an experiment. The operation which has proved most 
generally successful in idiopathic stringhalt is tenotomy. It has one 
qualification—that, namely, of being easily performed. The operation 
may be performed in the standing position; the procedure is as 
follows:— 
The hind foot is lifted as in shoeing, and the hair having been shaved 
from a point close below the hock, on the outer surface of the metatarsus, 
where the tendon in question is almost subcutaneous, the skin is washed 
and rinsed with carbolic solution. A twitch is then applied, and an 
incision made with a pointed bistoury or scalpel, immediately over the 
tendon and parallel to it. To penetrate the fascia lying under the skin, 
the point of the knife is carried right into the tendon. A slender blunt- 
pointed tenotome is then passed under the tendon, i.e., between it and. 
the bone, and the cutting edge being directed upwards, the tendon is 
divided. Excision of a portion of the tendon is of no advantage, and 
delays healing. Palpation of the parts will show whether section is 
complete. Bleeding being usually slight, the wound may be rinsed with 
a disinfectant and a dressing at once applied, under which healing will 
in four to five days be so far advanced as to allow of the wound being 
left open. If the instruments, the operator’s hands, and the dressing 
be thoroughly sterile, healing happens by primary intention; and even 
when suppuration occurs, though the point of operation is left somewhat 
thickened, no further ill-effect is incurred. Complete recovery may 
follow either at once, or be postponed for some days, or even weeks. 
The animal should be rested for eight to fourteen days after operation, 
and then turned loose in a box, or moved slowly on soft ground. 
Mo Her several times divided the fascia of the thigh just in front of its 
union with the extensor pedis (Dieckerhoff’s method) whilst the animal 
was standing, but restless horses should be cast for either operation. 
After section of the peroneus, the tenotome is passed under the fascia, 
which is divided from within outwards, and a dressing applied reaching 
down as far as the fetlock-joint, to prevent slipping off. The after- 
treatment is as above stated. 
