. The American farmer's horse book; a pictorial cyclopedia of facts concerning the prominent breeds ... Horses. 304 THE AMERICAN FARMER S HORSE BOOK. However, to "stifle," as it is called for short, is often attributed troubles of quite a different kind. Any sudden, obscure lameness of the hind parts is apt to be accounted for, among the knowing ones, by saying, "the stifle is out," simply for want of abetter explanation. Causes.—In young horses "stifle" occurs from allowing the feet to grow too long at the toes, or from grazing on hilly ground, or from standing i
. The American farmer's horse book; a pictorial cyclopedia of facts concerning the prominent breeds ... Horses. 304 THE AMERICAN FARMER S HORSE BOOK. However, to "stifle," as it is called for short, is often attributed troubles of quite a different kind. Any sudden, obscure lameness of the hind parts is apt to be accounted for, among the knowing ones, by saying, "the stifle is out," simply for want of abetter explanation. Causes.—In young horses "stifle" occurs from allowing the feet to grow too long at the toes, or from grazing on hilly ground, or from standing in a stall whose floor is too sloping. In all these cases the structures supporting the patella bone gradually lose their tone, the ligaments become loose, and the bone readily slips out of its socket. Debility, after a long illness, may bring on the same conditions and the same result. Symptoms.—In the beginning, the dislocation may be very slight, the bone appearing to simply move too freely in its socket; how-ever, this trouble increases—the bone gradually slips fur- ther and further, and in time it will move out of, and then back into, the socket, producing a pecu- liar clicking kind of sound. While the horse is stand- ing still, the leg may rest naturally, but as soon as he begins to move it, his control over it is lost; it will fly backwards, with the fetlock greatly flexed, as shown by the illustration. The patella bone can be felt, in the great majority of cases, on the outside of the joint, rarely on the inside. Some animals that possess great control over the mus- cles of the hips are able to return the leg to the ground, but the trouble recurs again just as soon as they try to walk. Treatment.—Place an old collar around the neck, attach a rope to the fetlock of the foot, passing it between the front legs to the collar, and in this way forcibl}^ draw the leg forward, when by pressure on the patella it will slip in place. The leg should be held forward bv the ro
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecthorses, bookyear1892
