152 STRINGHALT. 



being two years old, and the property of the Duke of Richmond, he won a 

 SO/, plate at Goodwood. In 1829, and belonging to Lord W. Lennox, he won 

 55 guineas at Hampton. Being then transferred to Mr. Coleman, he won 50 

 guineas at Guildford ; and in the same year, having been purchased by Mr. 

 Pearce, he won 60 guineas at Basingstoke. 



In the course of this year stringhalt began to appear in a slight degree, and it 

 evidently, although slowly, increased. There soon began to be a little diffi- 

 culty in getting him off ; but when he had once started, neither his speed nor 

 his stoutness appeared to be in the slightest degree impaired. He continued on 

 the turf until 1836, and won for his different owners seventeen races, the pro- 

 duce of which, exclusive of bets, amounted to 1435/. 



The difficulty and loss of advantage in starting had now increased to a degree 

 which rendered it prudent to withdraw him from the turf, and he came into the 

 possession of Dockeray, who used him for the purpose of leading the young 

 horses that he had under training. This is well known to be hard work, and 

 his rider was a man of some weight. In addition to this, he was generally 

 hunted twice in the week. His first starting into a gallop had something sin- 

 gular about it. It was a horrible kind of convulsive action, and so violent that 

 he frequently knocked off his shoes on the very day that they were put on : 

 but when he got a little warmed all this disappeared. He gallopped beauti- 

 fully, and was a very sure fencer. The sport, however, being over, and he 

 returning to a slow pace, the stringhalt was as bad as ever. 



At length the old horse became artful, and it was with great difficulty that 

 he could be made to lead. Sometimes he refused it altogether. In consequence 

 of this he was sent to St. Martin's Lane to be sold. The highest bidding for 

 him was 31. 14*., and the hero of the turf and the field was doomed to the 

 omnibus. There he was cruelly used, and this spasmodic convulsion of his hind 

 legs sadly aggravated his torture. The skin was presently rubbed from his 

 shoulders, his hips and haunches were bruised in every part, and his stifles 

 were continually and painfully coming in contact with the pole. 



In this situation he was seen by the veterinary surgeon to " The Society for 

 the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." There is a fund at the disposal of that 

 society for the purchase of worn-out horses, who are immediately released from 

 their misery by the pole-axe of the knacker. The horse was bought for this 

 purpose, another and laudable motive influencing the purchase, the wish to 

 ascertain what light the dissection of an animal that had had stringhalt to such 

 an aggravated extent, and for so long a period, would cast on the nature of this 

 disease. 



The author of this work saw him a little while before he was slaughtered. 

 He was still a noble-looking animal, and seemed to possess all his former 

 strength and spirit unimpaired ; but he was sadly scarred all over, in conse- 

 quence of his being put to a kind of work for which his spasmodic complaint 

 so entirely incapacitated him. So aggravated a case of stringhalt had 

 rarely been seen. Both hind legs were affected, and both in an equal degree ; 

 and the belly was forcibly struck by the pastern joints every time the hind 

 feet were lifted. The belly and the pastern joint were both denuded of hair 

 in consequence of this constant battering. 



He was destroyed by the injection of prussic acid into the jugular vein, 

 and the dissection of him was conducted by Professor Spooner, of the Royal 

 Veterinary College. 



On taking off the skin, all the muscles presented their perfect healthy cha- 

 racter. There was not the slightest enlargement or discolouration of the fasciae. 

 The muscles, of both extremities were dissected from their origins to their 

 tendinous terminations, and their fibrous structure carefully examined. Thev 



