Chapter XII (2)

Pulling horses up on their haunches is asserted to be a frequent cause of curb; yet curb is not an accident commonly met with among those animals which drag London carriages. These creatures are being constantly thrown upon their haunches, it being, by ladies, considered "very pretty and very dashing" to make their servants tug at the reins, regardless of the living mouths on which these operate. Pulling suddenly up, however objectionable for other reasons, does not seem to induce curb, as London carriage horses are all but free from that affection. The disease is mainly caused by uneven ground wrenching the limb; by galloping at the topmost speed; by prancing when mounted, or by leaping when after the hounds. Perhaps more curbs are to be seen in a district on which several packs are kept, than in any other part of the country.

OCCULT SPAVIN.

The horse is subject to many fearful maladies, but to none which is more terrible than ulceration between the bones composing the joints. Synovial membrane, cartilage, and bone are without sensation during health. The author hopes his reader is not conscious of a bone in his body; it is also wished that he may read with surprise, that the ends of bones are covered with cartilage, and that many are invested with synovial membrane. As has already been observed, these structures in health are not sensitive; but when disease starts up, be it only the slightest blush of inflammation, the acutest anguish is thereby occasioned.

Ulceration of the joints is, unfortunately, rather common among horses; the animal, while being ridden, usually drops suddenly lame. It has trodden on a rolling stone, or made a false step, or put its foot into some hole, and injured the bone. After a little time, continuance of the impaired gait causes the rider to dismount; nothing is to be found in the foot, yet the animal is taken to the stable decidedly lame. The foot is searched, the limb is examined, pressure, even of the hardest kind, is endured with provoking complacency. No heat or swelling can be discovered; but one thing is to be discerned, the lameness is most emphatic. After some time, a peculiarity in the trot may be remarked; the lame foot hardly touches the earth before it is snatched up again, and that very energetically. Then, closer observation notes that the leg, when flexed, is always carried in a direct line, as it is when displaying the symptoms of bony spavin. The hoof is never even partially turned outward. Still, neither of these traits is always displayed in so prominent a manner as to force attention; frequently, a conclusion is to be drawn only from negative testimony--as the duration of the lameness, the soundness of the foot, and the perfect condition of the tendons; these evidences, taken with the suddenness of the complaint, cause the practitioner to comprehend he has a case of =occult spavin= under treatment.

THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE LEG IS CAUGHT UP WHEN OCCULT SPAVIN EXISTS;
ALSO THE VIEW OF THE FOOT PRESENTED TO THE SPECTATOR WHO IS PLACED
AT THE SIDE OF THE HORSE, WHEN, DURING THIS DISEASE, THE LEG IS IN
MOTION.
]

Such is the origin of the disease: some authors assert the synovial membrane has been ruptured; some, on the contrary, say the bone has been injured. The author, knowing nothing, cannot tell how the disease begins, but he knows that from the date of its origin the horse is lame; very bad one day, but better, probably, the next. Generally improved after rest, and always badly limping subsequent to work; never to be depended upon, for proprietors say the animal is sure, wherever its services are required, to be obstinately lame.

Usually the wretched horse is blistered; setoned; blistered again; and, at last, fired. All failing to do the smallest good, the horse is next turned out for three months; while at grass, the poor animal, with an acutely diseased joint, which is enlarged and stiffened by mistaken treatment, has to take one step for every morsel it bites of poor and watery food. It is forced to travel long and far, or literally to starve; its body must rest upon the ulcerated bone, and the weight even be increased by the pendulous head before enough herbage can be cropped to sustain the life. At every step two ulcerated surfaces grate upon each other and are forced violently together; while anguish consumes the flesh, the nature of the food may keep in the life, but cannot otherwise than depress the spirits. Besides, the horse has been turned from a sheltered stall where it was daily groomed, into a field where it has to brave the utmost stress of the elements, uncared for and unnoticed.

At the end of three months the horse is taken up: to the master's disgust, it is found to be not looking smarter and not to be going sounder. More routine treatment is now permitted, and the diseased limb undergoes further torture; another three months is passed, and the lameness becomes worse than ever. The proprietor is loath to part with his property; but he often says "he wishes the animal were dead." At last, losing all patience, and never having possessed any care for the life which had suffered injury in his service, the horse is lent to some carter, who undertakes to "work it sound." This process never, in occult spavin, succeeds; the wretched quadruped gets worse day by day, till neither oaths nor lashes can prevent misery from limping on three legs.

At length, worked to a skeleton, the horse is returned to its proprietor, who, inviting pity upon _his_ misfortune, that life will feel, and that horse-flesh is subject to the ailments affecting all creatures which breathe, orders his servant to take "the beast" to the knacker's and to get what he can for it.

Such is the history of ulcerated joint. All joints are exposed to ulceration; every bone in the fore and hind leg may be thus affected. The small bones of the hock are those most commonly diseased; whenever this is the case, the only termination which can reasonably be hoped for is that the inflamed surfaces may be united. The bones are then bound together by osseous union, and are, of course, firmly locked; they are no longer capable of the slightest movement one upon the other; but this is no vast evil: many animals are now at work having the smaller bones firmly united by osseous deposit. Horses in that condition are far from useless, even for the highest purposes.

The man whose animal gets ulceration of the hock-joint ought to allow the injured quadruped even twelve months of uninterrupted rest. The first thing is to get the sufferer into slings; the earlier this is done the better; it takes off the weight from the affected joint, relieves the pain, and gives the system full opportunity to rectify the lesion. To draw blood to the part and so promote deposit, rub in, once every two days, some of the embrocation recommended in the article on "Rheumatism," which is thus composed: of soap liniment, sixteen ounces; liquor ammonia, tincture of cantharides, and of laudanum, of each two ounces. There need be no fear of applying friction; the utmost pressure made upon an ulcerated joint can call forth no response. When the joint is embrocated, wrap the part loosely in flannel, using an elastic webbing to fasten the portion above and below the hock, and not tying any fastening around the painfully-diseased member; give three feeds of corn, a few old beans, and sweet hay for each day's support, while the treatment lasts.

The improvement will be denoted by the animal bearing upon the affected limb; after three mouths or longer, the slings may be removed; in another three months, the horse, should the pace be sound, may perform gentle work. However, the first three months must be reckoned from the date when the animal commenced to bear continuously on the ulcerated joint; in short, the slings are not to be removed until long after the quadruped has, by its carriage, declared them to be useless. Then, for the three subsequent months, the work must not be violent; time should be allowed for the union to be confirmed, for, among the many diseases the horse is exposed to, there is not one more treacherous or more liable to relapse than occult spavin.

Such is all that is necessary for the treatment of this disorder; rest--perfect rest, with food capable of supporting nature in the reparative process--is everything which is absolutely necessary. A loose box even does injury, so entire must be the rest, which should be as near to stagnation as it is possible to make it. The embrocation is simply recommended to draw blood to the part, and promote the required deposition. One caution only is necessary--give no purgative; keep the bowels regular by means of cut grass and bran mashes.

THE DISEASED BONES OF THE HOCK. THE DARK PLACE INDICATES WHERE THE
ULCERATION IS GOING FORWARD.
]

If the above measures fail, as in the majority of cases they certainly will, nevertheless good will have been done by abating the violence of the ulcerative process. Before the last resort of all is adopted, another chance remains, which, as an experiment, is justifiable. Puncture the joint--a very small incision will be required; have the limb forcibly retracted or pulled backward; then inject, with a syringe having a fine point, about one ounce of dilute spirits of wine, in which is dissolved half a drachm of iodine. Immediately afterward place the animal in slings, and apply cold water to the hock by means of the India-rubber bandage described in the preceding article. Keep the horse liberally so soon as the pulse becomes quiet, and do not allow it to leave bondage till the tread is firm; as exercise is endured, work may be very gradually resumed.

Remember, the above is proposed only as a last experiment; the design is to change the ulcerative action to one of a secretive character, and thereby promote union of the diseased bones. A trial of this kind has never been instituted; but, certainly, judging from the result of a similar operation upon the human subject, there are the best grounds for anticipating good effects. That it may be known where to make the puncture, a drawing made from the bones of a diseased hock is inserted on page 311; the darker line marks the place where the ulcerated surfaces existed, and into which the fluid should be injected. This, however, is so nice an operation that, although unattended with any immediate danger, none but a skilled anatomist should undertake it. In proper and judicious hands it is perhaps as safe, and more likely to be accompanied with benefit than the great majority of veterinary remedies.

RHEUMATISM.

This form of disease in the horse is commonly known as following more serious affections. After influenza it is very frequent; it is not rare as coming in the train of thoracic disorders; most important organs, being acutely affected, will leave it behind them. On rare occasions it may appear without any forerunner.

Its advent is announced by swelling about the joints, accompanied by the most painful lameness; the animal may not dare to put its foot to the ground. Often the disease flies about, now seizing upon one or two joints, next attacking the hitherto free members, and generally clinging to similar parts, as the hocks, knees, etc. Then it will return to its former abode--thus shifting about, to the torture of the animal and the confusion of him who may undertake its relief.

One almost constant symptom is an increase of synovia. For synovial membrane, whether in the sheaths of tendons or on the heads of bones, rheumatism always displays a marked partiality. This structure is, as has been already noticed, without sensation during health; in disease, however, its involvement communicates extreme agony. The afflicted horse stands with difficulty; its pulse and its breathing declare its sufferings--both are quick and jerking; the limbs may be greatly swollen; and the parts secreting joint-oil bulged out, soft, and puffy, from the increase of their contents.

No disease is accompanied with such long and extreme pain as rheumatism; the remedies, therefore, should be quick and effective. Procure the steaming apparatus recommended for bronchitis; fill the warm, loose box, into which the horse should be brought, with vapor; while that is being accomplished, get ready the slings; put the belly-piece under the animal, and fix them so as not to take the entire bearing from the ground, but so as to relieve the diseased joints of some portion of their burden, and allow the horse to rest its body when it is disposed to repose.

Keep up the steam for one hour; at the end of that period, have several men ready with dry cloths--wisps would be too exciting; let the men wipe the horse quite dry, with as little noise and as much speed as possible. This over, order some of the assistants to put on the hood and clothing, also wrapping the sound limbs in flannel; the disengaged helpers are to go upon their knees and rub into and about the seat of disorder a liniment thus composed:--

Compound soap liniment Sixteen ounces.
Liquor of ammonia Two ounces.
Tincture of cantharides Two ounces.
Tincture of opium Two ounces.

When the liniment has been applied, incase the affected limbs in warm flannel.

Many persons are at a loss to comprehend this last direction; it is easily accomplished. Have ready some rings of elastic webbing to fasten over the members; also procure four pieces of flannel, each rather more than the length of a limb. To the small ends of two pieces of flannel, one yard and a half long, attach a band of broad, elastic webbing, and fix a buckle and strap at the other terminations; at similar points of the other two pieces of flannel, only these last are to be two yards long, likewise fix broad elastic bands, and also append a buckle and strap. Place the long pieces of flannel by the hind limbs; put the shorter flannels by the fore legs; buckle the straps, the fore ones over the withers, and the hind straps over the loins. This will keep the flannel up to its proper height; fasten it with the rings of elastic webbing to the hoofs, while the assistants are wrapping it loosely round the limbs.

The horse being in the slings, no surcingle can be put on, nor is any needed. The animal with acute rheumatism is certain to stand quiet enough. So much being accomplished, give the horse a bolus formed of powdered colchicum, two drachms; iodide of potassium, one drachm; simple mass, a sufficiency.

These measures are to be taken regardless of the condition of the body; if the attack, however, follow another disease, the bodily support must not be too low. It should be all prepared or softened by the action of heat and water; the oats should be of the best description; they should be crushed and boiled; a few old beans, also boiled, may be added, and a malt mash occasionally will do no harm. To open the bowels, and likewise to allay excitement, give green-meat when required; but do not make a practice of allowing this sort of food in quantity, as it blows the animal out, weakens the digestion, and soon loses all laxative effect.

Next morning repeat the steaming, etc., and give a ball composed of a scruple of calomel and two drachms of opium; allow only five pounds of hay during the day. At night, again steam, etc., and give the ball which was recommended on the first occasion.

When the horse begins to bear upon its legs, should the liniment not have blistered the joints, the following may be applied with a soft brush, but without friction:--

Tincture of cantharides One ounce.
Camphorated oil Half an ounce.
Tincture of opium Half an ounce.

The horse may be of a full habit when affected; in that case, pursue the measures already recommended, but do not give the food before advised; instead, allow bran mashes twice a week, and a bundle of green-meat once a day, and sweet hay must make up the sustenance for twenty-four hours. Should the horse, however, appear to lose flesh and spirit, boiled corn must form a portion of the diet, and the quantity can be regulated only by him who has charge of the case.

One caution must be given before concluding this article. A sick animal is very sensitive as to noises; a door banged to will excite the terror of the poor creature, which, probably, was half asleep, with the head hanging down. A loud word or an energetic action will not unseldom call forth symptoms of such alarm as may threaten, through their utter recklessness, to demolish the structure in which the horse is confined. For these, if from no purer motives, respect the sufferings and wisely try to soothe the animal. As the creature is devoid of reason to shape its fears, approach it noiselessly; speak softly at first; ascertain--although the eye be closed--by the motion of the ears, whether your voice is heard. Then lay the hand upon the neck and gently caress the sick body; after that you may do what you please, so nothing be very sudden or very loud.

Such slight considerations will not be thrown away, even in a medical point of view. A moment of excitement may do the injury which no physic will remove; nay, in critical stages, many a life has been lost from want of thought in the attendants about a diseased horse.

DISTENTION OF SYNOVIAL MEMBRANE--WIND-GALLS.

Man treats the horse after a strange fashion. He buys the animal for a large sum, because it possesses some particular quality; but, hardly has he obtained it, before he behaves as though he desired only to destroy the property he has so dearly purchased. A horse, for private use, is generally bought for its beauty; in a short time afterward it is sold as having become too deformed for its master's service. A year or two commonly suffices to spoil the most perfect animal. Many are ruined in their colthood; many more are made worthless by the trainer. Of all creation, the horse is most abused. So universal is this custom that the marks of ill usage are in the market even regarded as if they were natural consequences. Those affections designated =wind-galls= are generally lightly esteemed by most horsemen when the animal is required for actual service--as hunting, racing, coaching, etc.

Such marks, however, are evidences of hard work having been performed. They are not natural formations; but are blemishes, which man, in his consideration for a dumb servant, is pleased to make light of. They do not generally impede the action--and lameness is the only fact a true horseman cares to notice. He will not stay to inquire what must have been the kind of work which could occasion the =synovial membrane= to bulge out upon a living body. He does not care to ask whether Nature, when deformity first appeared, instituted the fact without intention. He will not condescend to question whether every unnatural appearance is not designed to be a warning. But he views wind-galls rather as a proof that the poor animal exhibiting them is a seasoned horse, and, therefore, is bettered by the distortion of a sensitive structure.

Wind-galls are the result of severe work. The back sinews are incased in a fine sheath which contains synovia, or, as it is commonly termed, "joint oil." The use of the synovia is to facilitate the motions of the two great flexor tendons one upon the other; so, when the pace is too fast or the labor too energetic, the delicate membrane which secretes the synovia becomes irritated. The consequence of irritation is increased secretion. More joint oil is poured forth than the natural sac can contain. The membrane, therefore, bags out at those parts which are weakest. Two such places are situated above the fetlock and one below it. The localities, with the size of the tumors, as they generally are exhibited, the reader will find delineated in the following engravings.

Wind-galls generally appear on the hind leg. They used to be regarded as swollen bursæ; but Mr. Varnell, Assistant Professor at the Royal Veterinary College, by careful dissection, first pointed out their real character. He proved them to be synovial enlargements; and the writer, benefiting by Mr. Varnell's instruction, has verified the fact.

Very slight physiological knowledge was required to detect they were not bursæ. Bursæ are little round sacs, secreting a fluid like synovia, but always placed so as to facilitate motion. Now, wind-galls appear close to a synovial sheath ordained to serve the same purpose. They, moreover, start up in the hollow between the flexor tendons and the suspensory ligament, in which arteries, veins, nerves, and absorbents reside. The merit in discovering they had been misnamed was, perhaps, small; but the credit of demonstrating what they actually were--which demanded a more elevated talent--remains with Mr. Varnell.

Wind-galls are fond of the hind leg; or rather, the hinder limbs do the heaviest portion of the horse's work; therefore these deformities are commonly found on those members. There may be one or three on both sides of each leg: they generally are quiescent; but occasionally they prove wind-galls to be something more than the simple blemishes which man is pleased to esteem them. After a hard run it is not unusual to hear a huntsman complain that the wind-galls have disappeared and the back sinews of his hunter have become puffy. When that occurs, the entire sheath suffers excessive irritation, and has enlarged. The horse is then very lame, but a day or two of rest reduces the sudden enlargement, and the animal recovers its soundness.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WIND-GALLS AND THE PUFFINESS OF THE SYNOVIAL
MEMBRANE, PROPER TO THE FLEXOR TENDONS, WHICH ENSUES UPON EXCESSIVE
LABOR.
]

Sometimes, however, repeated irritation starts up a new action; the secretion becomes turbid, displays enormous floating threads of cartilage and occasional sanguineous infiltration; the sac enlarges; the walls begin to thicken; the tumor feels less pulpy and more firm; it grows harder. First becomes cartilage, and ultimately may be converted into bone. Mr. Gowing, of Camden Town, has a fine specimen of this species of disease.

During these changes the animal is very lame; yet wind-galls are so lightly esteemed by horsemen as scarcely to lessen the price of a steed; they are, in general, accounted hardly worth mentioning, although men have been known to be strangely anxious to have them removed. This, however, is not easy to bring about; all the common methods are worse than useless; the only treatment which promises any benefit is the application of pressure. Fold a piece of soft rag several times; saturate the rag with water; lay upon the wetted rag one drachm each of opium and of camphor; put these upon the enlargement. Upon the moistened rag place a piece of cork big enough to cover the wind-gall, and of such a thickness as may be necessary; above the cork lace on a vulcanized India-rubber bandage. Constant and equal pressure will by these means be kept up; however, mind the groom be strictly ordered to take the bandage off the leg the last thing when the horse leaves the stable, and to put it on again immediately on the animal's return; otherwise, the proprietor may chance to enter the building and find his steed without an application, which, to be beneficial, should be perpetually worn.

Such is the history and the occasional termination of wind-galls. What kind of man is he who, when purchasing a horse, can confidently assert the animal will not exhibit the worst stage of the affection? A horse displaying wind-galls is prepared for the advent of the more serious form of disease; still, horsemen will persist in deeming synovial enlargements a trivial affair, when seen in the body of a creature whose utility resides in its power to move the limbs with agility.

BOG SPAVIN.

=Bog spavin= is a mark which man makes to signalize his authority over breathing flesh; man, in his stupidity, will form notions of what animals should be; he will not learn from nature. Thus the horse, which is made up of timidity and affection, he loves to chronicle as fierce, fiery, noble, and courageous; he talks largely of having mastered such or such a creature; he boasts highly of having laid whip and spur to a "brute" which, had he courted with gentleness, and wooed with sympathy, might not have been subdued so quickly, but assuredly would have been attached to him for life.

The hocks suffer severely through such erroneous opinions. These convictions are widely spread and influence every horseman; they control the breaker, who acts as though he had a wild beast to conquer into a show of submission, not to train a living animal which is naturally willing, only afraid to submit. Instead of courting such a being, the bit, the lash, and the cold steel are brought to bear upon a frame every fiber of which already quivers with alarm; many a colt, consequently, is ruined by the breaker. The creature is pulled up with a tug at the reins; and pain never yet enlightened an understanding; the horse is forced to do what he would cheerfully perform, if man would only take necessary trouble to communicate his wishes to a creature which, not comprehending words, is naturally somewhat slow to interpret heavy chastisement.

BOG SPAVIN, OR DISTENTION OF THE PRINCIPAL SYNOVIAL MEMBRANE OF THE
HOCK-JOINT.
]

The breaker, however, is considered equal to his office, if he be a light weight and a very resolute man. The young colt is sprained and jarred in every possible manner; it is at last returned to its master more than half broken--in the literal sense--for the seeds have been sown which, in time, will assuredly crop into a host of virulent diseases.

This affection is an increase of synovia in the upper or chief joint of the hock; it lies upon the most inward and forward portion of that part. The increase of the contents causes the membrane to bulge out after the manner represented in the wood-cut on page 318.

It is produced by repeated shocks to the limb, and in this respect resembles wind-galls; though situated in a different locality, it is also liable to the same changes. In short, the affections are the same, and are dissimilar only with regard to their relative situation.

Bog spavin is thought slightly of by professed horsemen; however, the reader must ask himself, if it be viewed as no deterioration, can it be also regarded as a recommendation? Is a blemished leg, or a limb with disease, which is liable to assume an aggravated type, properly considered a sound member? The writer thinks not. Bog spavin does not, in its ordinary stage, lame the horse; but can such an unnatural enlargement add to the pleasure of the animal's existence? Were pain in man judged of entirely as it affected the walk of the human being, the disorders of how many people would the doctor esteem of little consequence! Such a standard of agony is ridiculous. It is most difficult to say when no anguish is felt by the life which is denied the faculty of announcing its sensations through the medium of speech.

THOROUGH-PIN.

This disease is so called, because in some cases it pierces right through the thinnest part of the hind leg, or appears on either side immediately before the point of the hock. It, however, is often single. It is rarely present without bog spavin; and in every instance which the author has examined, it communicated with the large synovial articulation of the joint.

It is provoked by the same causes as generate bog spavin; it is similar to that disorder in not being generally accompanied by lameness, and in being liable to the same fearful changes. Pressure and rest are the best remedies; pressure, applied after the manner recommended for wind-galls, may in some cases answer. The bog spavin and the =thorough-pin=, however, should not in every case be treated at the same time; as a general rule, it is prudent only to attack one affection by means of an India-rubber bandage. This should be so cut as to release the bog spavin from all pressure; and where the slightest uneasiness is evinced, all bandages should be instantly removed, while the corks and cloths--employed as for wind-galls--are taken off the thorough-pin.

It is never well to attempt to cure the bog spavin first; the treatment ought always to commence with the thorough-pin; therefore, for a horse which will not endure the bandage, a truss must be procured from the instrument-maker. The truss is of the ordinary description, only adapted to bear upon the parts. This will probably act with efficacy equal to the bandage. When the truss has performed its office, then a perfect India-rubber bandage may be safely applied. Only, mind and also employ with the last the corks and cloths; else, when endeavoring to remove one disorder, you may reproduce another. Watch the animal while wearing the bandage; on the slightest change, either in habit or appearance, remove the India-rubber. Should the pressure affect the skin, (as it will in certain cases,) rags, thoroughly wetted, should be wrapped round the hock before lacing the bandage up. If the rags appear to be of no avail, it is better to forbear for a time, and to renew the attempt hereafter.

DISSECTION OF THOROUGH-PIN AND BOG SPAVIN, DEMONSTRATING THE
JUNCTION OF THE TWO AFFECTIONS.
]

The horse which exhibits bog spavin and thorough-pin also generally shows wind-galls on the hind legs. Let the reader consider the hard usage the limb must have undergone before it could have become thus deranged. Here is a specimen, demonstrating the connection which exists between thorough-pin and bog spavin. It was made in consequence of Mr. Varnell having informed the author that thorough-pin was a bulging out of the synovial sheath, proper to the flexor tendon; and was not, as is generally taught and credited, an enlarged bursa. The author found them to be in accordance with the description he had received: the enlargement called thorough-pin, and the synovial membrane of the hock, had united, and free communication existed between them, in the joint which the writer examined.

Nature formed the synovial cavity of the joint as a distinct and separate part. It is usual for teachers to promulgate a maxim that Nature is all-wise. Man, however, it appears, can violently disarrange her provisions; yet, by his fellow-men, he is accounted to have done no wrong who destroys the harmony of Nature. Thorough-pin is not, in popular estimation, essentially unsoundness. A horse thus disfigured is believed, nay, professionally pronounced to be, perfect, although two distinct parts are battered into one. If two are beneficial, why was one only created? The horse may not be lame; but, granting Nature to be all-wise, must not the uses for which the limb was designed be injured? The question is not, whether an animal trots sound; but it is, whether it really is sound. What sane man would assert such to be the case, where the anatomical structures have been disorganized?

CAPPED KNEE.

=Capped knee=, in the fore limb, answers to bog spavin in the hind leg; the diseases are alike in most respects. Both affect the principal articulation of a complicated joint; both may be provoked by the like causes; but the fore leg, being less exposed to shocks than the hinder member, must have been much abused before it could become thus deformed.

Blows, also, are common originators of capped knee. This disorder is likewise peculiar for a course it takes. The fluid within the swollen joint is, upon excitement, secreted in such quantity as to tighten the enlargement. Ultimately it lames the horse, and at length bulges out, or points, after the manner of an abscess. If let alone, it would burst. Much of the surrounding parts would have to be absorbed or would be effectually destroyed before such a termination could ensue. The life would be endangered, or a lasting blemish would be left behind. To prevent this, the surgeon draws the skin to one side, and, holding the point of his lancet upward, opens the capped knee upon its lower surface. A quantity of synovia, more or less in a turbid state, escapes, and an open joint remains. For the treatment of this contingency, the reader must turn to "Open Joint." (_Injuries._)

Capped knee is, by certain persons, viewed as a trivial accident. Generally, however, it is regarded in a more serious light, because it is _more conspicuous_ than bog spavin. We also should object to it, because, while liable to the same changes as wind-galls, etc., it is also likely to expose the horse to an open joint. It is, like wind-galls and bog spavin, to be reduced by pressure, though sometimes pressure will call up aggravated symptoms. Rest is the best treatment; during the rest pressure may be safely applied. Pressure does not answer, however, while the limb is exposed to the irritation of work. The horse must be thrown up during treatment, and gently used after the animal has been patched up or "cured."

CAPPED HOCK.

When an injury is formed near an important part, Nature is so conservative of her creature's welfare that she always has some means ready to preserve the utility of the structure. Thus when, from external violence, the hock becomes capped, or a swelling like to that represented in the following engraving ensues, to prevent the joint being thrown out of use Nature allows the skin to enlarge. The cap of a hock, originally, was a bursa. A bursa is a little bladder or round sac, formed of the finest possible membrane, and filled with a fluid similar to joint oil. Its use is to facilitate motion; hence it eases the tightened skin over the points of the bony hock. But when it becomes deranged and swollen, the skin, which was dense, hard, and solid, stretches so as to cover the increase of bulk.

The tumor, however, having been produced, may in time subside, should the injury which provoked it not be repeated. Too often, however, the cause springs from motives over which the animal has no control; and the violence being renewed again and again, the swelling enlarges, and that which was soft and pulpy at first becomes hard to the feel, while all sensation of fluid disappears. The provocative being repeated, the part first grows firm, then solid, while its bulk also enlarges to a fearful magnitude. There appears to be no limit to the size; but the largest the author has encountered was nineteen inches in its greatest circumference, and seriously interfered with progression. Above, on the right hand, is a portrait of the tumor.

These unsightly growths have two causes--the ignorance of the groom and the timidity of the animal. To speak of the last first: Dogs will dream; often, as they lie before the fire, they work their legs and utter suppressed noises, being at the time soundly asleep. Dogs also have imagination. Almost everybody must have remarked the dog slink away from some object which is to be indistinctly seen in the dusk of evening. Nobody, however, seems to have credited the horse with either of these faculties. Because it is of service to man, it is appropriated, and the attributes belonging to the creature are overlooked; the groom locks the stable door, and, having bedded the horses down, leaves them in the dark, "comfortable" for the night. One dreams--awakens in terror, similar to that which causes children to start out of their sleep with terrible crying. The hind legs are the means of defense with the horse; it has no other, for it seldom, and not habitually, employs its teeth. The animal, in alarm, begins kicking, for terror becomes powerful as the reason diminishes. Animals have passions; these man can, in himself, subdue with reason; but the poor horse has no reason to restrain its emotions. Fear, once awakened, unopposed, possesses it; it begins to kick before it knows why. Bodies of men are exposed to panics. Can we wonder, therefore, at a timid and unreasoning animal being subject to the same influences? The kicking commenced, terror spreads; and a whole stable full of horses, each chained to its stall, each alone, forbidden the consolation of society, and prevented from scampering from the unknown horror, takes up the action; thus thirty or forty horses may be heard, in the depth and darkness of a night, kicking at the same time. The hind legs, when forcibly projected, are apt to hit the point of the hock; the bursa there developed is injured by the blow, and a capped limb is the consequence.

Another cause is kicking while in harness. This habit is always attributed to vice: to speak of vice as associated with the ideas of a simple animal is purely ridiculous. Fear is a much more probable cause, if man would only expand his understanding to comprehend the motives likely to actuate an unreasoning creature; vice is far too heroic an impulse, far too human a failing, for the horse to embody. Fear is essentially an animal passion; that some mighty influence agitates the quadruped, when it begins to kick in harness, is proved by the serious accidents the horse encounters through this habit. No life can be careless of its own existence; all creatures are conservatives where their own being is concerned. Would mankind only admit this fact, and seek to gain the confidence of, as they now labor to establish authority over, the horse, gentle words, spoken when the impulse was awakened, might reassure the animal, and would thus frequently save the owner from impending danger.

A third cause is lazy drivers riding on cart-horses, when unhooked, as leaders of the wagon; the poles, called spreaders, which keep the chains asunder, frequently hang so low that, at every movement of the leg, they strike the point of the hock. The uneven paving of some stables is likewise said to produce the disease; in short, anything which may cause the point of the calcis to suffer violence will produce a capped hock.

The cure for capped hock has been differently directed. Some hobble the hind legs of the horse, to prevent its kicking in the night; some fasten a chain and a log to one hind limb, for the same purpose; others suspend a piece of loose cloth at the back of the horse; but the best plan is always to leave a lantern lighted in the stable. The power to see around reassures timidity, while darkness is an awful instigator of terror; horses often fly back in their stalls, but never kick, during daylight.

Then, as to the cure: Such a tumor, when recent, is hot and somewhat painful; at this time, keep it wet with cold water or with a lotion formed of spirits of wine and water in equal parts; when the tenderness has subsided, procure some men who want employment and have strong arms; set these fellows to rub the cap of the hock constantly, and the tumor, in three or four days, or in less time, will have disappeared.

THE SKIN FROM BENEATH WHICH THE TUMOR OF CAPPED HOCK HAS BEEN
REMOVED.
]

Should the enlargement, however, have become hard, the knife then must be employed; the horse must be cast, and the substance must be carefully dissected out without opening the sac. This being done, remove none of the skin; leave that bagging about the hock; simply treat it with a lotion composed of chloride of zinc one grain, to water one ounce, and the integument will contract. Ultimately there will remain no more than will be required to cover the part, whereas, if any be taken away, the wound, which in these cases never heals quickly, will be very long before it closes, and, in proportion to the skin which has been removed, there will remain a lasting blemish.

There is another caution we have to give the reader before leaving this subject; let no advice persuade, no temptation induce him to puncture, seton, or merely to open capped hock. The membrane lining the swelling is, when diseased, so extremely sensitive that the writer has known the lives of animals endangered by these so-called remedies. The author, moreover, never knew the enlargement to be much reduced by these means; neither has it been the author's lot to witness much good follow the application of blisters. No; extirpation is the only remedy, and it should be accomplished without puncturing the sac; this is as safe an operation as there is in the entire range of veterinary surgery. There is neither nerve, muscle, membrane, vessel, nor any important structure to avoid; with ordinary care, the removal is most easy. There is but one thing annoying connected with the business, and that is, the length of time which the healing of a necessary wound, made upon a point of motion, almost invariably occupies.

CAPPED ELBOW.

This is very common, especially among cart-horses; it is attributed to the calkin of the fore foot; to the point of the hind hoof; or to a stable floor, thinly bedded, and composed of sharp stones. So, likewise, blows with the butt-end of the whip will induce it; but the harness probably guards the elbow, which therefore can be struck only in exceptional cases.

It consists of a bursa, which, as in the former instance, has been injured, and has consequently enlarged; in appearance and in its subsequent course it greatly resembles capped hock, from which it differs only in a greater liability to ulcerate and become sinuous when allowed to remain until it is of extreme magnitude. It is said to derive that unenviable peculiarity from being situated nearer to the center of circulation. Capped hock is so little disposed to take on such a form of disease that the author cannot remember having seen a case of the kind; with a tumor on the elbow, however, ulceration is unfortunately too common. That probability should forbid the owner to allow the tumor to attain any great size; when large, moreover, it is apt to encircle the elbow-joint, and then its size seems to render the removal apparently impossible. It, however, may be extirpated. All said of capped hock applies to capped elbow.

LUXATION OF THE PATELLA.

That is displacement of the whirl-bone of the stifle, (which answers to the knee-cap of the human being.) Such an accident, fortunately, few horses incur; there are many veterinary surgeons who, during a practice extending over many years, have not encountered a single case; whereas other gentlemen will have hardly started in their profession before =luxation of the patella= is submitted to their notice. It is not peculiar to any district, it is not confined to any special breed; it may affect all kinds of horses in all sorts of places; for it is produced more by the parsimony or the uncharitableness of mankind than by any fault in the structure of the animal.

In several localities throughout the country agriculturists, under the notion of saving money, determine to rear horses on short grass. The creatures are out in the fields during all kinds of weather; the body becomes debilitated under such a starvation system; those parts which are naturally weak become weaker, while those structures which were originally endowed with strength grow comparatively stronger. The beautiful balance of nature is overthrown, and each portion becomes at discord with all the rest; any trivial disease may destroy the life thus at war within its own dominion. Colts frequently exhibit luxation of the patella before they are broken; but it is always provoked by weakness, and commonly only seen where the management is faulty or the food is stinted.

When the whirl-bone is displaced, it is always found as an unnatural lump upon the outer side of the thigh; it cannot, for three sufficient reasons, be drawn to the inner part of the leg. The inner condyle of the humerus, over which the patella plays, is sufficiently large to oppose any unnatural motion in that direction; the inner ligaments are the weakest, and are, therefore, most readily stretched in the outward direction; the circumstances permit the bone to be displaced from the inside of the leg. Then, moreover, the muscles are altogether more powerful upon the outer side. Any force acts more energetically as debility increases, and, to favor it, there is less resistance in the direction opposite to which the force pulls; for these reasons the bone is invariably luxated upon the outer side of the animal's haunch.

The symptoms denoting luxation of the patella are: the leg thrust out behind, and remaining fixed; the horse's entire frame is affected; the head is erect; the muscles quiver; the pastern of the protruded leg is violently flexed; there is an unnatural swelling upon the outer and lower part of the buttock. If the animal be forced to move, it can only imperfectly hop upon three legs; such an accident may occur at any time, and never be repeated. It may, however, become so common as to be mistaken for a species of habit; for luxation of the patella, when by frequency confirmed, will take place upon the slightest possible cause.

In stinted colts the most trivial motion will often give rise to this accident; the creature can hardly move without its leg being thrust out behind it. The cure is, in these cases, anything which may flurry the animal. A noise, made by moving the hand quickly and rather energetically from side to side within a hat, the crack of a whip, or any sudden and loud sound, will occasion the bone to return, with apparent ease and the utmost rapidity, to its natural situation. The colt, however, may the next moment exhibit the misfortune which, in young life, can only be cured by kindly treatment and liberal sustenance.

Probably the author will best describe the nature of the affection in old animals, by narrating a case which a few years ago happened to himself.

At the request of a friend he visited one of those auction marts for the sale of horses which in London are somewhat notorious. The object of his visit being, if possible, to purchase, his attention was directed to certain animals. As usual, a glance enabled him to pass by all the marked "lots," and he had reached the third stable, when his eye rested on a horse which seemed wrongly placed among such companions. It was lively, young, clean legged, short backed, well ribbed up--in fact, one of those rare creatures every inch of which seems made for service. The height was fifteen hands three inches; the color was a dark brown. The author tried in vain to discover if it had any "vice." It appeared perfectly quiet. He examined the feet; he could detect no unsoundness. He went to the office and ascertained the price--twenty-four guineas! It was too cheap! Such an animal would be thrown away if sold for fifty guineas. "Would they give a warranty?" "It was not their custom to give any warranty." "Had the horse megrims?" "No." "Would they grant a trial?" "It was contrary to their rules." Still the author wanted to buy; he would "deposit the cash, and if all proved right take the horse." "They never granted trials; but there stood the owner--the writer could talk to him."

The person alluded to was lounging close to the writer's elbow, and was habited in that half-blackleg, half-blackguard costume which characterizes the low London dealer. The contemplation of this individual did not improve any previous opinion of the matter. However, the man's eye was firmly fixed upon that of his would-be customer, and, rather than encounter a disturbance, the author approached the fellow, to whom he repeated his request. The answers given were too similar to those received from the clerk for the likeness to be purely accidental. The dealer nevertheless saw a trial was imperative to convert the inquirer into a purchaser; and, rightly judging from appearance that there was little of the jocky in the writer's attainments, reluctantly consented to afford the demanded test.

The horse was speedily between the shafts of a very light gig. The man took the reins, placed the whip behind him, and we moved off at the gentlest of possible trots. No objection was taken to the pace; it gave the better opportunity of examining into the soundness. All was right in that particular. The steps were loud and even. After some time, during which the man frequently inquired if "I had had trial enough _now?_" we left the paved streets, but no entreaty could cause the pace to be improved. At length we came to a rise in the ground, and, as it was approached, my companion turned sulky. Hardly had the horse began to ascend the inequality, before it suddenly stood quite still. The gig was brought to with a jerk, which almost threw both of its occupants upon the footboard. The author was the first out of the vehicle; there stood the horse--the leg out, the foot flexed, the head erect--displaying the evident symptom of luxation of the patella.

An inn was fortunately near the spot. To the yard of the hostelry the animal was with difficulty led. Being sheltered in an unoccupied building, a groom was placed at the horse's head. A long rope, thrown over a beam, was fastened to the fetlock of the protruded limb. By this rope the owner stood; and while he pulled the leg upward and forward, the writer was by the quarters, with both hands pushing the luxated bone inward. The patella soon slipped into its situation; and the horse was afterward sold by auction for four guineas more than the author had refused to pay for it.

Mr. Spooner, in his lectures at the Royal Veterinary College, always recommends his hearers, after this bone has been returned, to place an assistant by the horse's side, with strict orders to hold the patella in its situation for some hours. Such advice is most excellent; to which we can only add, perfect rest, and as much strengthening food as the animal can consume. If such measures are pursued, and the horse be not used for six weeks subsequent to the accident, there need be little fear entertained of a second luxation of the patella.

BLOOD SPAVIN.

This disease is, happily, with the past; the writer has not seen an instance. Neither had the late Mr. Percival--the highest veterinary authority--after a life laboriously passed in scientific research. It is described to have existed as varicosity of the vena saphena, where the vessel crosses the hock. The cause is said to have been bog spavin when of magnitude: this, it is asserted, opposed circulation within the vessel; but the author conjectures the swelling must have assumed the callous state, before it could have offered sufficient resistance to the flow of blood to occasion the vessel to enlarge or to become varicose.

There is no cure for such a disease. The knife may remove the deformity but a larger blemish was often left as the consequence of the operation. Should such a case be known to any of the present readers, the author would advise the enlargement should be left alone, and trust placed in the absorbing powers of nature for its removal.