248 The Management and Treatment of the Horse, 



mark the round bones which are situated a little posterior 

 to the prominence of the hip. This is liable to lameness 

 from blows, strains, and other causes. If there is any 

 fault here, there will be a wasting of the muscles, and 

 the defect will be more readily detected when the horse 

 is in motion. If any symptom of lameness is observable, 

 pass the hand over the spot, and heat is sure to be found 

 in the part: it may be probably verified by applying 

 your nose to the part, for in all probability there will be 

 the smell of some liniment which has been applied. 

 When examining a horse, never let the dealer's man 

 hold its head high, nor place its feet on rising ground, 

 because, as I have said before, while a horse stands in 

 this position the defects (if he has any) of its fore-legs 

 will not be apparent, whereas if it stands with its feet on 

 the level ground, if the limbs have been shaken from hard 

 work, they will exhibit a tremulous appearance, the 

 knees will be more or less bent, and the heels will not 

 rest firmly on the ground as they ought to do. Horses 

 that have been hard worked will have the fetlocks of the 

 hind legs bent and relaxed, and the natural elasticity of 

 the tendons and ligaments will have departed. The horse 

 that is termed groggy, when standing in a quiescent 

 state, will be found with a leaning posture over the fore- 

 legs, the feet of which will be further under the belly 

 than the upper portion of the limbs, and the entire limb 

 forming a flat semi-circle with the knees at the extreme 

 point of the curve. In looking at the action of a horse 

 6QQ tli at its feet are lifted high, and that all four feet 

 clear the ground. Some horses have high action with 

 their fore-feet, and would scarcely knock over a sixpenny 



