Since the support for the tendo Achillis is removed in such fracture and no leverage on the metatarsus obtains, it naturally follows that any attempt to sustain weight must result in extreme flexion of the hock and descent of this part in a manner similar to cases of rupture or division of the Achilles’ tendon.  The two conditions should not be confused, however, as the parts may be definitely outlined by palpation and the slack condition of the tendon and displaced summit of the calcaneum, which characterize fracture of the fibular tarsal bone, are easily recognized.

Treatment.—­Prognosis is unfavorable in the majority of cases, but should attempts at treatment be undertaken in young and quiet mares which might prove valuable for breeding purposes in case of imperfect recovery, they should be put in slings and the member is to be immobilized as in tibial fracture.  Authorities are agreed that prognosis is entirely unfavorable in mature animals, when the case is viewed from an economic standpoint.

Tarsal Sprains.

Etiology and Occurrence.—­The hock joint is often subjected to great strain because of the structural nature of this part and its relation to the hip as well as the manner in which the tarsus functionates during locomotion.  That ligamentous injuries owing to sprain frequently occur and attendant periarticular inflammations with subsequent hypertrophic changes follow, is a logical inference.  Fibrillary fracture of the collateral ligaments may take place in falls or when animals make violent efforts to maintain their footing on slippery streets.  In expressing opinions concerning the frequency with which the hock is found to be the seat of trouble in lameness of the pelvic members, different writers place the percentage of hock lameness at from seventy-five to ninety per cent.  And when one considers the possibility that a goodly proportion of cases of tarsal exostis are the outcome of sprains, the occurrence of tarsal sprains may be more generally admitted.

Symptomatology.—­A mixed type of lameness is present and the nature of the impediment varies, depending upon the location of the injury.  Sprains of the mesial tarsal ligaments cause lameness somewhat similar to that of spavin.  However, in establishing a diagnosis, local evidence in these cases is of greater significance than the manner of locomotion.  During the acute stage of inflammation there is to be detected local hyperthermia, some hyperesthesia and a little swelling.  Later, when resolution is not prompt, considerable swelling (or perhaps correctly speaking, an indurated enlargement) variable in size is developed.  In some cases the entire tarsal region becomes greatly enlarged and this swelling is very slowly absorbed in part or completely.  Such sub-acute cases are observed during the winter season and particularly where subjects are kept in tie stalls without exercise for weeks at a time.