TREATMENT OF THOROUGHPIN. 
471 
towns in the Commonwealth have made the necessary appoint¬ 
ments. 
This was a long step in the right direction. The principle 
involved was right. It secured the inspection of each herd in 
the state, and as I shall endeavor to show later, it has resulted 
in an immense amount of good. Of course the system is by no 
means perfect; the local authorities, except in large towns, 
rarely appoint qualified men for the position. I hope, however, 
that before long instead of the local town inspector the state 
will be divided into districts, each district being in charge of an 
experienced, qualified veterinarian. In this way the work will 
be done far more thoroughly and one of the principal objections 
to the present method will be done away with. 
[To he continued}) 
TREATMENT OF THOROUGHPIN. 
By Charles Cowie, M.R.C.V.S., Ogdensburg, N. Y. 
A Paper read before the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, at Syracuse, 
Sept. 15, 1897. 
The subject which I have chosen to make a few remarks on 
before this progressive society may be considered old and thread¬ 
bare, and, to myself, it has been apparent that I can have but 
little new on the subject to bring before you, with the exception 
of a more successful method of treatment than is recommended 
in most of our text-books. 
Thoroughpin is an excessive accumulation of synovia in the 
bursa of the flexor pedes perforans tendon, situated at the upper 
and posterior part of the hock. The fluid which it contains can 
be forced by pressure from one side to the other, and for this 
reason it derives its name. This derangement or blemish is met 
with in all kinds of horses, and all ages, but more frequently in 
young animals. The straight upright hock is said to be more 
liable to develop it, but I think this is more apparent than real, 
the bursa being more confined would bulge laterally with the 
slightest accumulation of fluid. 
