BACK SINEWS
,—so called in a horse, are the tendons extending from the junction of the knee, at the back of the shank-bone to the fetlock joint, where they are inserted. These parts are so much acted upon, and partake so palpably of the labour in which the animal is constantly engaged, that they are eternally liable to injury from over work, rolling stones, deep ground, or projecting prominences in the pavement of large towns. When injuries of this kind are severe, and threaten, by swelling and inflammation, some duration, a repetition of work should be by all means avoided. A speedy and permanent cure principally depends upon the first steps taken for relief, to which mild treatment, attention, unremitting care, and rest, will conjunctively contribute. In most cases too much is done in too short a time, to gratify either the impatience of the owner, or the pecuniary sensations of his medical monitor; burning applications (increasing the original inflammation) of what they term hot oils, followed up by blisters of extra strength, and lastly, the humane (and frequently ineffectual) operation of the firing irons, constitute the routine of professional practice, to the utter rejection of milder means, and the indications of nature, who, with the assistance of rest, would frequently effect her own purpose, and complete a cure.