THE HORSE. 55 



tinue to do so, the nerve being united, the horse can 

 perform all the work of horses of his class : yet, until 

 we have better data to go upon as to the mischief 

 resulting from injuries in consequence of this muffled 

 or deadened sensation, he must still be pronounced 



UNSOUND. 



Chinked Back. 



Chinked back, which is a slight dislocation or injury 

 of the vertebrae or of the spinal cord running through 

 them, is caused by the horse being pulled up suddenly 

 by an unskilful horseman, or being over-weighted. The 

 misfortune occurs in a moment, where the horse is 

 stopped on the instant, unless his legs are properly 

 placed at the precise time ; it is therefore dangerous for 

 any but an accomplished horseman to attempt it, and 

 more especially from the circumstance that the horse is 

 not a returnable purchase if you discover this defect a 

 few minutes after purchase, unless you can prove that 

 the injury existed prior to his becoming your property. 

 When the horse drops at the pastern joint of the hind 

 legs while being ridden, you have reason to apprehend 

 this defect, particularly where you find that the front of 

 the hind pastern joint has been cut or injured at any 

 time, or that the horse grunts on being backed, or 

 winces on being pressed on the affected part. UNSOUND. 



Where the injury is slight, chinked-back horses 

 frequently carry light weights very well, but are best 



