DIVISION OP THE FLEXOR TENDONS. 
399 
and commenced by making a longitudinal incision down the leg, 
after which I cut right and left with a scalpel, from the centre of 
the tendons towards their sides, until I got them both divided, 
examining the part with the finger very carefully at every cut, 
until the division was completed ; but even then 1 could not get 
the leg straight, although I pressed it back several times. 
I, at last, began to think that an anchylosis had taken place 
between the large and small pastern bones ; and that I should not 
succeed; however, by placing my foot at the knee, with the as¬ 
sistance of another person pulling at the foot, I accomplished this 
object. I dressed the wound for some weeks with a little simple 
ointment, and it healed kindly. 
The horse was a considerable distance from me, and there was 
not that attention paid him which I could have wished ; conse¬ 
quently from an unforeseen disease which had been set up in the 
pastern joint, he was always inclined to favour the limb to the flexed 
position. It was again beginning to assume the crooked appearance 
eight weeks after the operation; but by removing the heeled shoe 
which was on the foot, and applying one with a lever at the toe, in 
one week the leg was perfectly straight. In fact, I found that 
the leg could be made to bend too much backward or too much 
forward by changing the shoes. The animal was to have been put 
to work in a few days after I saw him last; but his death put an 
end to all my expectations, as he was carried off by an attack 
of inflammation in the bowels. The leg was sent to me, and the 
following are the post-mortem appearances :— 
The inferior articulating surface of the large pastern bone 
quite carious, the sessamoid bones very much diseased, and a 
large quantity of new bony matter thrown out round the head of 
the small pastern bone. Had he lived, in my opinion he would 
have been of little or no service, as the leer would in a short time 
have again got crooked, from his hanging it to save the diseased 
joint. 
This is the eighth case which I have seen of caries of the ar¬ 
ticulating surface of the large pastern bone; and I am inclined to 
believe it exists, in a greater or less degree, oftener than we are 
aware of, particularly where the animal begins to knuckle over 
and get unsafe in his action: they are also more apt to stumble 
than the real grog, with the least existing disease between the 
two pastern bones. 
The first person who was noted for performing this operation 
(dividing tendons), was a farrier of the name of Bracket. lie lived 
at Carstairs, and operated on a horse belonging to the late Lord 
Hermond, about nineteen years ago; so that we are obliged to no 
modern veterinary surgeon for its merits. 1 understand he was 
very successful. 
