CASE OF FRACTURE OF A COLT’S LEG. 537 
culty in breathing, they make a wheezing noise like a man 
making a violent and prolonged inspiration; there is a good 
deal of fever, but they feed well, although they waste rapidly. 
The duration of the disease is about five days, but always 
before it subsides a considerable eruption breaks out behind 
the ears, the skin of which has the appearance of being 
cracked. The disease is not attended with any fatality. 
CASE OF FRACTURE OF A COLT’S LEG. 
By Haydon Leggett, M.R.C.Y.S., Luton. 
On Wednesday, May 15th, 1872, I was called to see a 
cart-colt, 2 years old, suffering from a fractured leg, at Mr. 
James Tribilcock’s, Woodside Farm, Caddington, near Luton. 
On my arrival I found the colt had an oblique fracture of the 
near radius, situated about the centre of the middle third of 
the hone, caused by a kick from a nag mare. 
I had castrated the col tin question a few weeks previously, 
and this was the first day of its going out to grass, it having 
recovered from that operation. Upon close examination of 
the limb I ascertained that the direction of the fracture was 
from above downwards and inwards, and that the sharp point 
of the lower half of the bone slightly protruded through the 
skin. This was caused by the leg dangling about, as the 
colt had walked on three legs a considerable distance from 
the meadow to a loose box. The owner was of opinion that 
it would be better to shoot the animal at once, as he thought 
“ it would never do much good.” I, however, stated my 
opinion that, considering age and all other circumstances, 
treatment would be successful, and the colt’s ultimate reco¬ 
very only a ^vork of time and patience. To this the owner 
eventually consented. 
I at once reduced the fracture, bound up the leg with pitch 
bandages, and had a stout piece of leather cut the shape of 
the forearm and laced it on in a similar manner to a man’s 
shoe. This, however, did not answer so well as I had anti¬ 
cipated. On the following day I made a kind of mould out 
of a stout piece of leather, with a thin splint of iron riveted 
on the front, back, inside, and outside, which made it very 
stiff and firm. I then punched two rows of lace-holes out¬ 
side from top to bottom, and filled up the uneven parts 
inside the leg with pieces of woollen bandages. After placing 
the two ends of the bone in apposition—an exceedingly 
troublesome and difficult process in an animal that had only 
