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An Interesting Split Pastern
AN INTERESTING SPLIT PASTERN
Clinical
245
Jlrtlcl~s
An Interesting Split Pastern. By CAPTAIN]. BELL. F.R.C.V.S., Catford, S .E.
A FEW days ago I received an urgent message from the local Terntorial Artillery Depot to go at once as one of their riding horses h ad injured himself in the Ridmg School and was in great pain. I found the animal standing holding his off fore foot like a dog holding his paw; he was sweating, breathing hurriedly and looking a nxiously ; palpation of the pastern and mo\·ement of the foot revealed o nly a siight tissue paper crinkling, but there was much pain on pressure . As I was positiYe of a fractured os suffraginis and the horse was a bout IR years old, I ordered its immediate slaughter. Later a post·mortem was made. Under the skin I found . everal ha:morrhagic extravasations and the bone fractured into Sf'Veral pieces. Boiling revealed the fac t that there were nine pieces. The upper e nd four, the lower two, with three small pieces in the middle. I might state that the horse was wonderfully sound m hmb and well preserved .for his years (no ringbone, sidebone or spavin, only a small splint each for limb). SIGN OF OLD FRACTURE. -There did not appear to be any new b ony deposit indicating old fracture, and the smoothness of two or three of the pieces was consistent with the fact that it was about four hours be t'h ~"en the accident and death. From inquiries I found that the horse broke away from the a ttendant in the school and capered and galloped about twice round, when h e pulled up suddenly. The School has a beautiful surface, 12 t o 14 inch es thick , of peat , tan and sand, so I can only surmise t hat th e horse struck the wall in coming down from the rear or turning at the corner. At any r ate a riding sch ool is about the last place in which one would expect an animal to suffer such an injury. In my opinion there was a little rarefaction of the cancellated bone tissue showing, but whether this was the result of too mnch boiling or not I was not quite sure.
Clinical
245
Jlrtlcl~s
An Interesting Split Pastern. By CAPTAIN]. BELL. F.R.C.V.S., Catford, S .E.
A FEW days ago I received an urgent message from the local Terntorial Artillery Depot to go at once as one of their riding horses h ad injured himself in the Ridmg School and was in great pain. I found the animal standing holding his off fore foot like a dog holding his paw; he was sweating, breathing hurriedly and looking a nxiously ; palpation of the pastern and mo\·ement of the foot revealed o nly a siight tissue paper crinkling, but there was much pain on pressure . As I was positiYe of a fractured os suffraginis and the horse was a bout IR years old, I ordered its immediate slaughter. Later a post·mortem was made. Under the skin I found . everal ha:morrhagic extravasations and the bone fractured into Sf'Veral pieces. Boiling revealed the fac t that there were nine pieces. The upper e nd four, the lower two, with three small pieces in the middle. I might state that the horse was wonderfully sound m hmb and well preserved .for his years (no ringbone, sidebone or spavin, only a small splint each for limb). SIGN OF OLD FRACTURE. -There did not appear to be any new b ony deposit indicating old fracture, and the smoothness of two or three of the pieces was consistent with the fact that it was about four hours be t'h ~"en the accident and death. From inquiries I found that the horse broke away from the a ttendant in the school and capered and galloped about twice round, when h e pulled up suddenly. The School has a beautiful surface, 12 t o 14 inch es thick , of peat , tan and sand, so I can only surmise t hat th e horse struck the wall in coming down from the rear or turning at the corner. At any r ate a riding sch ool is about the last place in which one would expect an animal to suffer such an injury. In my opinion there was a little rarefaction of the cancellated bone tissue showing, but whether this was the result of too mnch boiling or not I was not quite sure.