WEST OF ENGLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 215 
well formed. A fore leg requires from tliree to six months and 
a hind leg from six to nine months for recovery. Before casting 
the horse for operation have the foot put into shape and the heel 
lowered; if it be a hind leg have a shoe with a projecting toe- 
piece, without calkins, nailed on firmly ; make a very small incision 
on the inner side, much the same as for unnerving, about midway 
between the fetlock and knee; then with a fine bistoury, such 
as surgeons use, divide the tendons, taking care not to injure the 
vessels and nerves nor other portions of the skin. After the tendons 
and fibrous tissue are divided, and the leg put into a normal posi¬ 
tion, put in one or two wire sutures. The operation is then 
complete and the animal fit to walk home quietly a distance of 
five miles, if necessary, and to be turned into a field, requiring no 
treatment whatever for the next month, when it may be neces¬ 
sary to again put the foot in order. If it be a hind leg it is 
generally necessary to keep the toe-pieced shoe on until the horse 
is fit for work. 
Curb is produced by some inordinate action of the hock, more 
especially in young horses when in bad condition. In its simple form 
it is an enlargement of the sheath of the tendons, so that the one 
passing over the distended part of the sheath is raised out of the 
straight line. It may be attended with lameness, but it is more 
commonly not, unless the sprain or injury be of a more severe 
character; or if the horse with a simple curb be repeatedly over¬ 
weighted or overpaced, in that case the sheath and tendon 
become sprained and inflamed, and the fibrous structures of the 
tendons and other tissues in connection become thickened and 
enlarged. 
It has been stated by different writers that curb is the result of 
an injury to one or other of the ligaments. Such a statement 
cannot be borne out either by theory or the scalpel, as in 
dissecting curby hocks I find that the ligaments are the last 
structures to become involved in the general thickening. En¬ 
largement is the earliest indication of curb, and often without any 
lameness. On the contrary, injury to ligaments in connection 
with joints is attended with a considerable amount of lameness, 
but without swelling, and scarcely any heat. Take, for instance, 
a sprain of one of the branches of the suspensory ligament. 
Treatment .—Generally very simple ; scarcely ever necessary to 
do anything more than apply repeated blisters. I apply them 
over a much larger surface than is generally done. In the case 
of valuable horses I have for many years used pressure in the 
reduction of the enlargements, and for that purpose I now use 
two pads, one on the curb, the other on the point of the hock, 
the pressure being applied from two buckled straps about one 
inch wide. It is very common to work horses during treatment. 
