OPERATION OF TENOTOMY IN THE HORSE. 
55 7 
horse a dose of physic, or rather what we call a laxative-diuretic ball, 
composed of Aloes, 35 s, and Nitrate of Potash, ^ss ; and allowed the 
bandage to remain on for four days. I then took it off, and cleaned 
the leg, and found there was some matter forming on the inside of the 
limb, opposite the wound, the wound itself looking healthy. On the 
14th, an abscess had formed and broken, and was discharging freely. 
External wound healthy, and healing fast. I applied a plaister of 
digestive ointment inside and out for two days, then a dressing daily of 
equal parts of solution of Nitrate of Potash, Sulphate of Zinc, and 
Tincture of Myrrh , up to the 21st. Then a dressing daily of a solution 
of Sulphate of Copper, and Bole to make it thick, and thus form a coating 
over the wound, so as to protect it from the air, and discontinued the 
bandage; the horse being at the time very little lame, and the leg 
nearly in a natural position. Will it do this horse’s leg good to fire it ? 
or to put on a blister or two, after another month or six months? or 
will it be strong enough of itself after three months’ rest to stand 
O O 
work ? 
* * 4 * * 
The above two cases beautifully illustrate the powers 
possessed by nature to repair lesions of any of the organs 
existing in the animal body, even under the most unfavorable 
circumstances; for I think it will be admitted, that in the 
case last described, it would be almost impossible for the 
ingenuity of man to adopt a course of treatment more likely 
to impede the reparatory process than that resorted to. 
And yet, in spite of such strange proceedings, the wound 
healed in a very reasonable time. The veterinary surgeon 
who had the care of this case may consider himself fortunate 
that diseased action did not extend to more important parts, 
such for instance, as the theca, at the back of the knee, or 
fetlock joint; for had such been the case, the result in all 
probability would have been far different. 
In my own case, the operation was performed with as 
little violence as possible ; the interior of the wound was 
not exposed to the influence of the air, and there w r as no 
haemorrhage by which a clot of blood could have been 
formed, and which might have interfered with reparation. 
Indeed, so far as the w r ound itself was concerned, nothing 
could possibly succeed better than it did. 
Wounds, whether artificially or accidentally produced, 
should not be dressed with nostrums of any kind, for such 
applications, as a rule, impede the reparative process, and 
the blemish is almost sure to be extensive. Our duty is to 
Match the condition and progress of the wounded part, and 
particularly to attend to the health of the animal. My idea 
of treating the above kinds of M’ounds, is first, to place the 
parts as much as possible in a state of rest; secondly, to ex¬ 
clude the atmosphere from the Mound, and thirdly, to use, if 
