AS TO SOUNDNESS. t; 



cealed by the trick of holding up the head and fright- 

 ening the horse into the attitude of " attention." In 

 going round the horse at this stage, a practised eye 

 soon finds a spavin, a fractured ileum, odd eyes, odd 

 fore feet, and so many other things, that it is of im- 

 portance to do this carefully, as we may frequently 

 cut short the examination. Of the thousand-and-one 

 blemishes, one or more of which we may now perceive, 

 I have nothing to say at present ; but it is at this stage 

 one sees "shaky" fore legs, with or without broken 

 knees. With regard to broken knees, we can dispose 

 of the case quickly and without a second thought ; but 

 if, as often happens, we come across them when in 

 other respects they are perfect, we frequently find a 

 difficulty in deciding. I may here tell you that this 

 trembling condition of the fore legs is due to a loss of 

 balance in the tone of the extensor and flexor muscles 

 of the leg ; this may be congenital, or be brought about 

 by overwork, or, suddenly, by over-exertion. In some 

 cases, this loss of balance between the two opposing 

 sets of muscles is sufficient to throw the knees forward, 

 and give the fore legs a permanent bend. I have no 

 doubt you will all have seen such cases in horses of 

 unblemished reputation as hunters and as harness 

 horses ; but in these cases safety of the " forehand " is 

 ensured by the limbs accommodating themselves to the 

 altered circumstances. 



Almost at any cover-side you may observe this bent 

 condition of the fore limbs. I have frequently seen 



