176 Common Diseases of the Horse 



In a cart horse, if the animal on being made to move over or 

 on being backed, Hfts its leg, and at the same time shoots his tail, 

 it is called a " bobby-backed ", a " bobby ", or a " policeman ". As 

 already stated, the best time to diagnose stringhalt is when the 

 horse is moved after standing at rest. The observer should always 

 turn the animal over in the stall both ways, and should see him 

 when he is backed out, as not infrequently the disease appears to be 

 of an intermittent nature, and will only be evident at certain times. 

 After being brought out of the stable the horse should first of all 

 be backed, and after that turned sharply round, first to the left 

 and then to the right, one hand of the attendant having short hold 

 of the bridle, the other being placed on the flank, and a turn made 

 in as small a circle as possible. Any undue snatching of either 

 hind limb should be looked for. The snatching may be of any 

 degree, from slight undue flexion of the hock to the hind foot being 

 brought up nearly to the animal's belly. Further confirmation 

 may be sought by walking or trotting him 20 or 30 yd., and then 

 suddenly turning first one way and then the other. 



In addition to the spasmodic lifting of the limb, it is commonly 

 banged down with great force to the ground, which causes the shoe 

 to be worn out rapidly and a good deal of wear and tear to the 

 limb. In animals working on soft ground, and in the lighter 

 breeds, the condition does not appear to affect their working 

 capacity to any great extent; they will frequently do as much 

 work as their sound companions, provided too great a strain is 

 not put upon them and they are kept fit and in good condition. 

 Should they be brought into the turmoil of hard town work, and 

 placed upon slippery setts, then the condition will become greatly 

 aggravated; they will rapidly lose flesh and deteriorate. 



This applies particularly to the cart horse, which soon becomes 

 useless for shaft purposes. The cost of such an animal in any case 

 entails a great increase in maintenance to his owner by having to 

 be shod very frequently. This, in addition to cost, also causes loss 

 of time necessitated by repeated shoeings. 



Another great defect in what has been alluded to as " bobby- 

 backed " horses is their refusal to lie down (this also applies equally 

 to the shiverer), thereby losing the recumbent rest so essential to 

 the animal, and causing it to be worn out long before its time. 



Finally, while one may tolerate certain degrees of stringhalt in 

 a harness horse or hunter, and not view it with much alarm in a 

 racehorse, a cart horse should always be refused, as one never knows 

 how the disease may develop so as to render the sufferer a compara- 

 tively worthless animal. 



