CHAPTER XXXIX. 

 UNSOUNDNESS IN THE HORSE. 



Soundness is a very vital factor in determining the value 

 of a horse, and a knowledge of unsoundness is very essential to 

 success in breeding. Brief description of the most common un- 

 soundnesses has been deferred until the close of the discussion of 

 horses in order that the student may learn to fix his attention, 

 first of all, on type. The matter of soundness, while important, 

 is often overemphasized by beginners. Presented here at the 

 close, such information should serve as an important supple- 

 ment to preceding discussions of the types and market classes 

 of horses and mules. 



If a horse is unsound, his unsoundness may be accounted 

 for in one or more ways: (1) he may have had a natural weak- 

 ness in conformation or structure which predisposed him to the 

 unsoundness; (2) he may have been strong in conformation, 

 but forced to do extreme labor which was beyond the power of 

 the animal machine to endure; (3) the unsoundness may be the 

 result of a bruise, blow, cut, or other injury; (4) unsoundness 

 may result following a diseased condition of some part of the 

 body, and (5j lack of proper care, as, for example, failure to keep 

 the feet in proper balance so as to distribute the weight and 

 wear equally over the various parts of the foot and leg, may bring 

 on unsoundness. In the horse for work, it matters little which of 

 the above explanations applies; he is unsound, and the horse mar- 

 ket fixes his value according to the nature of the unsoundness, with- 

 out regard to the reason why the horse has it. In the horse in- 

 tended for breeding purposes only, unsoundness should not be con- 

 sidered a serious detriment unless it is explained by the first of the 

 possibilities listed above. For example, it is wiser to breed to a 

 horse having a naturally strong hock which, because of accident 

 or extreme work, has developed a bone spavin, than it is to breed 

 to a sound horse having a weakly formed hock which is free 

 from bone spavin only because it has never been put to the test 

 of even moderate work. It is often difficult, however, to de- 

 termine with accuracy the reason for an unsoundness, and in all 

 such doubtful cases the unsoundness should be looked upon 

 with suspicion and the horse rejected for breeding purposes. 



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