The horse was speedily between the shafts of a very light gig. The man took the reins, placed the whip behind him, and we moved off at the gentlest of possible trots. No objection was taken to the pace; it gave the better opportunity of examining into the soundness. All was right in that particular. The steps were loud and even. After some time, during which the man frequently inquired if "I had had trial enough now?" we left the paved streets, but no entreaty could cause the pace to be improved. At length we came to a rise in the ground, and, as it was approached, my companion turned sulky. Hardly had the horse began to ascend the inequality, before it suddenly stood quite still. The gig was brought to with a jerk, which almost threw both of its occupants upon the footboard. The author was the first out of the vehicle; there stood the horse—the leg out, the foot flexed, the head erect—displaying the evident symptom of luxation of the patella.
An inn was fortunately near the spot. To the yard of the hostelry the animal was with difficulty led. Being sheltered in an unoccupied building, a groom was placed at the horse's head. A long rope, thrown over a beam, was fastened to the fetlock of the protruded limb. By this rope the owner stood; and while he pulled the leg upward and forward, the writer was by the quarters, with both hands pushing the luxated bone inward. The patella soon slipped into its situation; and the horse was afterward sold by auction for four guineas more than the author had refused to pay for it.
THE MANNER OF RETURNING THE PATELLA OF AN ADULT ANIMAL.
Mr. Spooner, in his lectures at the Royal Veterinary College, always recommends his hearers, after this bone has been returned, to place an assistant by the horse's side, with strict orders to hold the patella in its situation for some hours. Such advice is most excellent; to which we can only add, perfect rest, and as much strengthening food as the animal can consume. If such measures are pursued, and the horse be not used for six weeks subsequent to the accident, there need be little fear entertained of a second luxation of the patella.
BLOOD SPAVIN.
This disease is, happily, with the past; the writer has not seen an instance. Neither had the late Mr. Percival—the highest veterinary authority—after a life laboriously passed in scientific research. It is described to have existed as varicosity of the vena saphena, where the vessel crosses the hock. The cause is said to have been bog spavin when of magnitude: this, it is asserted, opposed circulation within the vessel; but the author conjectures the swelling must have assumed the callous state, before it could have offered sufficient resistance to the flow of blood to occasion the vessel to enlarge or to become varicose.
There is no cure for such a disease. The knife may remove the deformity but a larger blemish was often left as the consequence of the operation. Should such a case be known to any of the present readers, the author would advise the enlargement should be left alone, and trust placed in the absorbing powers of nature for its removal.
