SURGICAL TREATMENT OF THE DISEASES OF THE HOCK JOINT. 
2 53 
be considered sound for any purpose, no matter how free they 
may apparently be from actual disease. 
Treatment .—Diseases of the hock joint are no exception to 
the rule that specifics multiply in proportion as the disease is 
difficult to cure. How many dozens of patent and proprietary 
preparations can we not find in the market guaranteed to cure 
spavin in forty-eight hours ? We have used every variety of 
blistering agent that could be devised, and with how much suc¬ 
cess ? My experience teaches me that there is little value or 
advantage to be derived from the application of a blister in any 
form of spavin. In fact in every instance, have I been impressed 
with the fact that it did harm. If we review every form of acute 
and sub-acute spavin, bearing in mind the pathological condition 
with which we must contend, will it be possible for us to find 
a single indication for blister ? All of the conditions present 
at the time would be greatly aggravated by counter-irritation. 
The theory of the action of counter-irritation is a very pretty 
one and a very plausible one, but in practice all those pretty 
theories fail, and after a few experiences of this kind, if we are 
not able to recognize cause and effect, we will soon find our 
pretty little craft in which we set sail from our Alma Mater 
wallowing in the trough of a very ugly sea. 
I have never found blistering agents of any value in the 
treatment of diseases of the hock. I make this broad statement 
because in my entire fifteen years’ acquaintance with the veterin¬ 
ary profession I have never once seen any good results from its 
use, but in many instances harm was clearly demonstrated; and 
my experiences in this respect comes down to 1894. 
The use of the actual cautery is a means of treating spavins 
advised by all writers on this subject, and recommended by all 
practitioners. The one reason why this treatment is so unani¬ 
mously recommended by the profession is due to the fact that 
nearly all of us feel that this is the last resource left to us, and 
that with it we reach the end of our string. When we have 
been driven into this last ditch we endeavor to hedge ourselves 
by giving our client a learned discussion on the physiological 
