324 CHAPTELl 42. 



flow of tho l)loofl tlirouLrh the vein whicli passes over it, and renders it 

 varicose. The dilatation of its loats takes place just under the seat of 

 llie ])o<r-spnvin^ There is no direct remedy, but any treatment which 

 lessens the Itog-spaviu will decrease the tendency to retardation in tlie 

 upward flow of the blood. No great harm residts from tlie dilatation of 

 the vein. The greater part of the swelling is always <lu(' to ihc l•lln•s^d 

 Enlarixement -not to Ihe vein. 



CHAPTEPx i2. 

 DETRCTTON OF THE SEAT AND HAUSE OF LAMENESS. 



649, Introduction. 650. Betodion of tlie oent and Cause of Lameness. 

 651. Mode of examining ahorse. <')52. Wit ether lame before or behind, to 

 be first ascertained. 653. Side, on which the horse is lame, to be next 

 ascertained. 654. If lame before, tvhether in the foot or eUeivhere. 655. 

 If not lame in the foot, and yet more lame on hard than on soft (jroiind an 

 Exostosis may be susj^^t'ted. 656. Of lameness in the fore-hand , when the 

 horse is more affected on soft than on hard ground. 657. Lameness in the 

 Hind Quarters. 658. Sprains of the Loins and Slringhalt. 659. Rheu- 

 matism as a cause of Lameness. 660. Accidents and such like causes of 

 Lameness. 



649. Introduction. 



Lameness is only a symptom of disease. It may be produced either by 

 pain, by inability, by malformation, or by accident; or it may arise from 

 disease of the cerebral or nervous system, as in injuries of the spinal 

 cord or in stringhalt. 



Lameness is usually, but not invariably a sign of pain. In anchylosis 

 of a joint, for instance, there is decided lameness from mechanical im- 

 pediment, but no pain. 



Again, loss of elasticity of movement, such as is common in old horses 

 or in animals which have done much work, may exist to a degree scarcely 

 distinguishable from lameness. 



It might, at first sight, seem a veiy simple thing to say, whether a 

 horse is lame or not. It is not so, however, in many cases. Old, or 

 hard-worked horses, as just mentioned, sometimes go stiff to a degree, 

 which may easily be mistaken for lameness, unless due allowance is made 

 for age, (fee. Again, some horses, which are very wide in their chests, 

 roll in their action to an excessive degree. Other horses, if constantly 

 driven in harness, acquire a peculiar liitch in their trot, which is not 

 really lameness. If the animal is sound, this will probably disappear 

 when he is trotted slowly in hand with a \exj loose rein. Others, espe- 



