Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-03-10
Fractures.

Fractures are much rarer in the horse
IN the human subject, arising, no doubt,
from the greater uniformity in the labor
of quadrupeds, and from their being
much less exposed to casualties than
men. They are, however, by no means
untrequent, and the metacarpals and
phalanges are probably more exposed to
the accident than the other bones, and
they likewise admit better chance of
cure than if the radius or the humerus
in the fore, or the tibia or femur in the
hind, extremity are fractured. From
the powerful muscles attached to these
bones, and the shape of the limb, it is
extremely difficult to retain the parts
afterWard IN proper position for union,
and IN the generality of cases it is most
prudent to destroy the horse. The want
of success that attends the greater num-
Der of cases of fracture in the horse is
owing to the following reasons: The
restlessness of the animal; the impossi-
bility of making him assume the recum-
bent position as in man the difficulty
of singing him for any length of time;
the circumstance of his having, in many
instances, used the limb after the frac-
ture, thus displacing the bones to con-
siderable extent; and the fracture eX-
tending into a joint, or being very COM
pGcated and severe. To insure cure,
therefore, 1T is necessary that the horse
should be tractable; that the fracture
should not be very complicated that
the horse should not have walked any
great distance on the leg afterward; and
that the bones should not have been
much displaced. When these favorable
condolences are present, and the ami
NAL is of sufficient value to pay for the
expense of few months keep, we may
then be justified in attempting a cure.
Fractures Of the pasterns present a
greater prospect of success than when
the shank is broken.
In reality regarding fractures of the
extremities), it is very seldom, however
skillfully the operation may have been
performed, that the animal is made per-
fectly sound there remains lameness
and weakness. to a greater or less de-
gree, in the limb which has been frac-
rtured, and sometimes there is a slight
deformity. In this state, therefore, it is
seldom that the animal can be ridden or
driven in a carriage long or rapidly with
out going sensibly lame and such are
generally the uses to which high-bred
and valuable horses are put. They will
then be, if not absolutely unfit for their
work, at least very unpleasant to use,
even after the most successful treat
ment; they, therefore, can no longer
suit the persons who possessed them,
who are mostly very jealous of the good
qualities of their horses. One resource,
however, remains, which is, to use them
for breeding. For heavy, slow work,
such as the wagon or the pillow, it signi-
ies much less whether the horse is a
little lame, so that he can work. In
these sorts of animals slight blemish
is not an essential defect, and there
ought to be less hesitation in attempting
to cure their fractures, when it is prac-
ticable, than those of high-bred horses;
for, we repeat, they lose much less of
their value. .......
In COWS we have a greater chance of
being useful than in the horse; for, from
the quiet nature of the animal, we have
a reasonable prospect of union afforded,
and if the case should be complicated,
we may have recourse to amputation,
whereby valuable animal may be saved
for breeding purposes. -. -