Lameness of the Horse: Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1Lacroix, John Victor
Science
Lameness of the Horse: Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1
Lacroix, John Victor
Horses -- Health; Lameness in horses
Sprains or injuries of lateral ligaments of the extremities, ringbone
and certain foot affections, are made manifest by a side to side
movement or a pivotal movement. In fact, wherever it is possible to
cause undue or unusual tension to be exerted upon an inflamed structure,
manifestation of pain is the response. In an inflamed condition of the
lateral side of the phalanges, unequal weight-bearing such as a rough
road surface will, by virtue of the leverage which the solar surface of
the foot affords, cause undue strain upon such inflamed parts, and
increased lameness is evident.
When an animal is made to travel in a circle, when a member affected
with supporting-leg-lameness is on the inner side of the circle,
lameness is accentuated because weight is borne by the lame leg for a
greater length of time, the result of such circuitous manner of
locomotion. In swinging-leg-lameness, on the other hand, because pain is
increased at the time an affected member is being advanced, lameness is
increased when the subject is made to travel in a circle, with the lame
leg on the outside of a circle thus described.
In supporting-leg-lameness, the transientness of the weight-bearing
period upon the affected member is the determining factor in the
production of lameness. This unequal period of weight-bearing upon the
front legs, for instance, causes an acceleration in the advancement of
the sound member, in order to relieve the diseased one which is bearing
weight. In other words, when an animal that is affected with
supporting-leg-lameness travels in a straight line, since weight is
borne by the diseased leg for an abnormally short period of time, the
sound member needs be in the act of advancement a correspondingly short
period. The result is then, an unequal division of stride; a nodding of
the head with the catching up of weight by the sound leg,--in front leg
affections--and this is termed _limping_.
With continuous exertion as in travel for a considerable distance, in
some cases, lameness becomes less evident--as in spavin. This "warming
out" process is due in a measure to the parts becoming less sensitive
upon exertion, and is to be seen, to a limited extent, in all
inflammatory affections that are not too severe; consequently, in some
cases, examination of a lame animal should begin in the stall, for in
instances where the impediment is not marked, there may be no evidence
of lameness after the subject has walked a few steps. In other cases,
lameness increases as the subject continues to travel, and often to the
extent that the impediment becomes too severe to allow the animal being
serviceable. Therefore, one can not, in every case of lameness observed,
positively determine the gravity of the situation, without having seen
the affected animal in action for a sufficient length of time to
understand the nature of the condition existing. This necessitates
driving the animal for several miles in certain cases.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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