The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 71
THORN.
This is another troublesome customer to the groom,
for otten it is in the horse's legs some days before it can
be detected. But every groom after a day's hunting
should examine very carefully the legs to ascertain if
there are thorns in them ; the two worst and most likely
places for a thorn to be is in the knee joint and the
coronet between the hair and hoof. Sometimes a horse
will get punctured with a thorn so deep in the joint that
it will cause synovia or joint oil to run, and when this
occurs, under the best treatment, there is sure to be an
enlargement of the joint. Often a limb is pierced with
a thorn and the point broken off and left in the wound.
This is more troublesome than a large thorn left in, for
the latter is soon detected, and when once pulled out
causes but little trouble ; while a very small piece of
thorn, especially black thorn, from its acid nature, will
set up inflammation and suppuration, sometimes to a
great extent before the evil is found out, as many grooms
are apt to mistake a swelling from a thorn for a rap with
a rail in the hunting-field. If there is any doubt about
a swelling being caused by a blow or a thorn, the leg
should be examined minutety. The best way to do this
is to take a knife and draw the blade slowly up against
the hair and examine the skin as you proceed. If you
find a puncture only as large as the eye of a needle
probe the wound to see if any thorn is there ; if you
cannot find one, rub into the hole a small quantity
of Gregory's vesico sudorific ; this will keep the wound
open and set up a discharge, and if a thorn is there
it will draw it out ; if there is no thorn it will act