VETERINARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 17, 19 January 1912, Page 9

VETERINARY.

A FEW HINTS OX LAMENESS. HOW TO LOCATE THE TROUBLE. (By VET.) The tenn, lameness, Signifies any irregularity or derailment of the function of locomotion. It may be caused bv diseases of fracture of the bone, strain of the tendons, ligaments or muscles of a limb, inliammation of the bursa or covering uf the joint, dislocation, injuries, etc. It js not the writer 3 intention in this article to give a fuL aescription with treatment of the various diseases and injuries which cause lamenes3. This Kticle is written with the object of nvin" a few practicable bints on locating Umeneas. firstly, to enable our readers to tell which leg the animal is lame 0 n and- secondly, to locate the seat of lameness. This in many cases is far more difficult than the actual treatment, and requires the strictest observation if one is to become proficient in the art of diagnosing lameness. To the careful observer the discovery that the animal is becoming lame is comparatively an easy matter, but what is not always easy is to detect whether it is in the fore or hind part of the body, or whether its seat he the near or off \ e a. What is aore difficult still is to put one's finger on the seat of injury. In a healthy animal under normal tonditdon each leg carries its fair proportion of the body weight, and the change from one leg to the other, as may be required by the gait, results in a Bmooth. even, and equal balancing of active movements, shifting the weight from one leg to the other with symmetrical precision But let lameness arise through some obscure cause or injury, and what t»kes place!. The inability of the lame leg to sustain weight will imply excessive exertion on the sound one. Thus; the lime member win be elevated rapidly, moved more carefully forward, and returned to the ground with caution and hesitancy; the contact with the earth being effected as lightly as possible, while the sound limb will rest longer on the ground, move boldly and rapidly iorward, and strike the ground rapidly and forcibly. All this is due to the fact that the sound limb carries more than its normal share of the weight of the body. Lameness of the left side, therefore, means dropping of the body to the xight side, and vice versa. I emphasise this statement, as a great number of people are of opinion that the leg on which the weight of the body drops is the one in which he is lame, and which the animal is usually supposed to favour. When examining a horse for lameness the trotting movement is the best for this purpose. In conducting such an examination the animal should always be uncovered and the halter placed in the lands of a man capable of handling him, *hile a hard level road should be chosen lor the trial. The animal should be examined from various positions, from before, from behind and from each side. The observer should then carefully study that important action already spoken of as the dropping of the body upon one extremity or the other. This can readfly he detected by attending closer to the motion of the head and°of the hip. ™enead<rropsonthesame side on which the mass of the body will fall, dropping toward? the right wnen the lameness is £ the left foreleg, and the hip dropping » posterior lameness, also on the sound '<& The reversal of the conditions proaiices reversed effect.

That a horse is lame in a given leg {My be easily determined, but when it «*ones necessary to locate the part, Ud what structure is affected, the easy P*rt of the task is over, and the more WBonlt and important part of the investigation has commenced, except, of MMse, in cages of which the features are wodiatinctly evident to admit of error. J$ carefully notng the manner in wien a lame leg is periorming its funcrffv and dose 'y observing the motions « the whole extremity, and especially of S* various joints which enter into its iracture, by minutely examining every 'gW of the limb, by observing the outj£«! .by testing for heat, if any, and &»«+• 0f the sen sibilitv, all these fumigations may guide to a correct Ration of the seat of trouble. Again the breed and age of the horse tf sometimes act as a guide. Thus, wei Heavy breeds are liable to side-bones, frnl' e li ° hteT class of h orse suffers W P . naV, , Cnlar discase - Again, in light ur i.j are common a t an earlv Hft while navicular disease is seen in y»nag animals. Again, various ailmenU ?l ? la posed by their own peculiar gait. "'rmgboae an animal walks on its heel. W in sidebone the opposite is the case, "J t walks on the toe. An animal tZ* 1 fr °m splint lameness will walk j"W or almost so, but when usked to lam e ° es esoeedingly lame, and the tr«f ls out of all proportion in the *uLEv J**- A § ain - in navicular disOftk i- ** alwa y ß seen in aged horses »« lighter breeds, the animal when j™« brought out of the stable is very jZ!j. 0n boUl fore feet, the action reever B i, oae ° f a cat on bot bricks '. ho,v - Hd'l D tllc 111 ' s warmed up, lev t? 5 ?° De Beveral mi]e3 ° n hi 3 JOUTlein lamen ess almost disappears, to Ppear when he cools down. Pointing winjg one foot and then the other J" 80 a symptom of this disease. uuneness due to a foot being pricked fa always of a severe nature, to D , n t "" al ' n some ca6es almost refusing ft, p i lts foot to the ground. When hih. - ed foot is P ut to ground it yWVs ma hesitating manner, as if the """Wma feeling for a wft place to put

it down, and when put to the ground, the affected foot only bears "the weight for as short a time as possible, then with a hop it is on to the sound leg, and the weight is carried by that leg as long aa possible. in the fore legs the foot is the most frequent source of lameness, whereas in tiie hind leg the hock is most liable to injury. Therefore the foot in front and the hock behind should alwayß suggest the beginning of an inquiry especially in eases of obscure lameness. lii conclusion just a word with regard to treatment, more especially in those diseases and injuries which require blistering. It is a custom in many parts oi this country, as soon as the injury or disease is located, to apply a blister. A much better method of treating such cases is to apply cold water with a or by means of a wet woollen bandage for a week or ten days. If the injury is slight this may he all that is required: and if it be of a more by that time the more acute symptoms will have subsided, when one will be better able to see the extent of the injuries and foTm a better opinion as to the treatment required.