SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK-PART X. 601 



■quickly, either shoulder or hip lameness becomes more pronounced 

 and one is able to detect the limb affected. A short step with a foreleg 

 may indicate shoulder lameness, while a long step with a hind leg is 

 often indicative of ringbone lameness located in the pastern region of 

 the limb. Lameness located in the knee causes stiffness of that joint 

 and on lifting the foot and flexing the knee it will be found impossible 

 to make the. heels touch the elbow or the tendons at the back of the 

 cannon bone to lie snugly along those of the forearm. The knee will be 

 kept more or less bent forward (flexed) if causing pain; the elbow point 

 will be dropped downward if there is soreness under the shoulder or a 

 broken rib at that part. 



If a horse starts out lame in a foreleg, quickly "warms out of the 

 lameness," is as lame as ever when rested a few minutes and again 

 started out, and if the foot is thrust out in front when standing still, 

 one may confidently conclude that the lameness is located in the "navicu- 

 lar" bone and joint of the foot contained in the horny wall of the hoof; 

 if on the other hand, the lameness aggravates the farther the horse 

 travels, is in a foreleg and not associated with "pointing" (thrusting 

 forward) of the foot, the most probable seat of the trouble will be just 

 under the knee on the inside of the le^ and probably due to "splints," 

 which are bony growths upon the cannon bone where the small splint 

 bones (metacarpals) are located. 



Chronic soreness of the fore feet (grogginess) when not due to navicu- 

 lar disease indicates the probable presence of "corns" which are located 

 in the angles of the heels between the "bars" and the wall; chronic 

 founder (laminitis) or old standing contraction of every part of the 

 hoof which, as we have seen in a former article, causes squeezing or 

 pinching down upon all of the sensitive underlying tissues producing 

 the horny wall, sole and frog. 



When a horse starts out lame in a hind leg and soon gets over the 

 lameness with exercise, "spavin," located in the hock joint (not the 

 "knee" of hind leg), is to be suspected, and in that trouble there will 

 also be wearing away of the toe of the shoe, resting upon the toe when 

 standing at ease and "hopping" with the lame leg when made to "stand 

 over" in the stall. Lameness located in the stifle joint (at flank) may 

 cause wearing away at the heels of the shoe and further may be indicated 

 by swelling of the joint, or, in young celts, a snapping in and out of place 

 of the "patella" (knee cap), at which times the hind leg will be thrust 

 backward and held so until some change of movement causes the patella 

 to snap back into place again. "Stifled" is a common term given by 

 horseshoers and others to any lameness of the hind leg, the true location 

 of which they are unable to determine. A horse can only be correctly 

 said to be "stifled" when the patella is out of place, and In that condi- 

 tion the afTected leg can not be extended forward. Dragging the toes 

 of both hind feet may Indicate weak back, sprain of the rnuscles of the 

 loins, disease of the kidneys or diseases such as "osteoporosis" or "loco- 

 motor ataxia," which have other symptoms as well, but usually cause 

 some mysterious forms of lameness such as we have indicated. 



Lastly, it may be said that "heat, pain, redness and swelling" usually 

 Indicate acute inflammation and may guide the examiner to the true 



