18 
OBSERVATIONS ON SOUNDNESS. 
violence or injury to bone, it is notorious enough, is in 
horses especially apt to be followed by exostosis; and it the 
hurt be to a joint, or in the vicinity of one, by anchylosis, 
partial or complete, as well; so prone is the economy ot the 
horse to what medical men call ossific inflammation/’ 
“ The cause of splint, now that its nature has been ascer¬ 
tained, will on reflection strike U3 to consist in anything that 
may occasion undue or sudden pressure upon the splint 
bone, whereby the cartilaginous union between it and the 
cannon bone is stretched or strained, and so has its capillary 
circulation increased in such a manner or measure that con¬ 
version of it into bone is the result, followed or not by 
exostosis as the case may be. Over action, or over weight 
at a tender age is the ordinary cause of this. In the anxiety 
there is to bring young horses into use, in the precocious 
practice of breaking, and racing, and hunting that exists, we 
cannot feel surprised at imperfected parts giving way, or being 
reconstructed in a different manner from the original design. 
Nature is forced beyond her powers, and, finding that the 
soft and elastic material placed for a certain wflse purpose 
between the splint and cannon bones, insufficient against 
weight and force, osseous material is substituted for it. 
Even before breaking or using the colt commences, however, 
the mischief may be perpetrated. A gallop, a jump, a 
gambol in the field or yard, may, even in the foal, occasion 
the throwing out of a splint. Again, a blow or other external 
injury may produce a splint, though this is comparatively a 
rare case. To whatsoever cause, however, it be referable, 
the fact is notorious enough, that hardly any horse com¬ 
pletes his fifth year without a splint, either latent or demon¬ 
strable ; for, as we have before remarked, exostosis or tumour 
is not absolutely necessary to constitute splint/ 5 (( Splint 
rarely produces lameness/ 5 
I have quoted somewhat largely from Mr. PercivalFs 
Hippopathology because that gentleman has so ably handled 
this subject; still I must be permitted to say I do not agree 
with all he has written upon it. I do not think splint lias 
up to the present time been properly and distinctly under¬ 
stood by horsemen generally. Mr. Percivall’s definition of 
splint is this, (i that it is an exostosis, 55 i. e. } a callous or 
osseous tumour, growing upon one, or contiguous to one, of 
the splint bones. Were the tumour not of such a nature, or 
being of such nature not so situated, we should not call it a 
splint.’ 5 We learn from this and other observations made by 
him, as well as some other authors, that a splint must be 
