- 7 2 Horses] I oeinfj. 



as much about it as he does, excepting the pain. His courage 

 enables him to bear a good deal without much flinching, never- 

 theless he soon shows to a close observer that mischief is brew- 

 ing ; the first indication he ffives is the straisfhteninsr of the 

 pastern bone, so as to place the weight of the leg more on the 

 coffin bone, and less on the navicular bone ; then, as time goes 

 on, and the pain increases, he relaxes the fetlock joint, and bears 

 less weight on the foot altogether ; still there is not much in his 

 mode of standing to attract the attention of a casual observer ; 

 his next plan for obtaining relief is to advance the foot slightly, 

 so as to bring the toe of the lame foot a little in front of the toe 

 of the opposite foot, whereby he removes it in some degree from 

 the base which supports his weight. 



All this may have been going on for months, and no one have 

 observed it, until at last he can bear the pain no longer, and 

 he thrusts his foot fairly out in front of him in undisguised 

 " pointing ;" nevertheless he contrives, when he is at work, by 

 shortening his stride and stepping a little quicker, to conceal the 

 lameness ; and the groom and his master become in time so 

 accustomed to his posture in the stable, that they look upon it 

 as a mere trick, and say, " it is all nothing, he always stands so 

 when at rest :" the latter may be true, but the former is some- 

 thing more than doubtful. 



Some horses are unquestionably given to tricks, but no horse 

 ever indulges in a trick which compels him to stand almost con- 

 stantly on two legs instead of four ; the pain and inconvenience 

 of such a proceeding would soon induce him to relinquish it as a 

 matter of amusement. Before he can point a fore foot he is 

 obliged to dispense with the support of the opposite hind leg, 

 which he does by relaxing the muscles, lowering the hip, bending 

 the joints, and resting the limb on the toe ; he then has to divide 

 his weight as equally as he can between the other hind leg and 

 the opposite fore leg, and having done this he raises the lame 

 foot and deposits it sufficiently forward to insure its exemption 

 from sustaining any portion of his weight ; he then lowers his 

 head and neck with a view of still further diminishing the weight 

 on his feet, and presents altogether such a picture of misery, tli;it 

 it would require a very lively imagination in the beholder to 

 suppose the horse is merely indulging himself in an agreeable 

 trick. 



The horse's foot is made up of a variety of textures so 

 elaborately and beautifully combined as to form one complicated 

 but perfect spring, and unless that spring is permitted to have 

 constant freedom of action, it very soon gets out of order, the 

 more delicate parts lose their elasticity, and the power of expan- 

 sion, which is so essential to the soundness of tlie foot, becomes 



