33° Journal of Agriculture. [lo May, 19 io. 



Bone Spavin.— 



Hayes {Veterinary Notes — 7th edition, 1906, page 254) : — 

 Hereditary predisposition plays a large part in its production. . . . Bad 

 conformation of the hocks has undoubtedly a predisposing influence. 



MoLLAR AND DoLLAR {The Practice of Veterinary Surgery, page 

 721):— 



The intimate structure of the bones and ligaments mav predispose to disease, as 

 shown by the inheritance of spavin, and its occurrence in entire strains whose hock 

 joints appear perfectly formed. 



Curb.— 



Axe {The Horse in Health and Disease. — vol. 5, page 300) : — 

 The causes . . . must be considered under two heads, viz., predisposing and 

 exciting; of the former, heredity is a marked factor quite apart from conformation, 

 for it is noticeable that the produce of some horses and mares . . . show a special 

 liability to the disease. 



Hayes (Veterinary Notes — 7th edition, 1906; page 56): — 

 Animals which have suffered from curb ought not, as a rule, to be used for stud 

 purposes, for the conformation that renders a horse liable to this injury is often 

 transmitted to the offspring. 



Examinations Made. 



The systematic examination of stallions organized by me as Chief 

 Veterinary Officer, and carried out under my direction during the past three 

 seasons in Victoria, has afforded an opportunity of ascertaining the pro- 

 portionate incidence of most of these unsoundnesses in the different breeds 

 or classes of hor.ses, and the age-period at which they occur, and also of 

 determining in some degree the extent to which certain of them run in 

 families. 



The observations which have been made — together with the records 

 of relationship of sound and unsound horses — will, I think, furnish a 

 materia] contribution to the evidence establishing the hereditary character 

 of Sidebone at all events. It is unfortunate that the records in most 

 cases have reference to only the paternal .side of the breeding of the 

 individual horses examined ; for there is no reason to believe that the 

 hereditary influence of the dam is other than equallv as potent as that 

 of the sire. Indeed, the conclusion is almost irresistibly forced that, 

 in the case of some of the families dealt with, the number of unsound 

 descendants recorded would have been much greater but for the prepon- 

 derating influence of " sound " blood on the dam's side. 



Up to the present, under the Victorian .scheme for the Government 

 Examination of Stallions for Soundness,* a total of 2,636 horses have 

 been examined; 779 light horses, 558 ponies and 1,299 draught horses. 



Certificates of freedom from hereditary unsoundness have been issued 

 in respect of 1,954 horses (74.5 per cent.), and 417 (15.75 per cent.) have 

 been refused certification as being found affected with one or ocner ot the 

 listed unsoundnesses. The examination has not been confined to high 

 class horses. Practically all horses standing for public service in the 

 State have been examined, and as showing the range as regards quality, 

 it should be mentioned that 265 (10 per cent.) of the total number examined 

 have been refused the Government Certificate on the ground that they were 

 below a reasonable standard for Government approval as regards breed, 

 type and conformation. 



* What this system is, how it was introduced, and the work that has been carried 

 out under it, may be gathered from a perusal of the three first (1907, igo8, and 1909) 

 Departmental Reports concerning it, which are published in the December, 1907, July, 

 1909, and April, 1910, issues of this Journal. 



