384 EXAMINATION OF HORSES AS TO SOUNDNESS 



not be lost sight of that many animals so affected do life-long work without 

 further mishap, and we should therefore say that, where the curb is small 

 and unattended with lameness, the legs well formed, and the horse in hard 

 condition, but little risk would attend the purchase of such an animal if the 

 work required of him was not severe. 



Many good horses, because of curb, have been rejected by intending 

 purchasers in favour of an indifferent brute having some sort of title to 

 be called " perfectly sound ". 



In front of the point of the hock and behind the leg-bone is the tendon 

 of the deep flexor muscle, whose sheath sometimes becomes largely dis- 

 tended with synovia, forming a fluctuating tumour passing from one side 

 of the hock to the other, and commonly termed thoroughpin. Young 

 horses are most frequently its subjects, and especially those of the heavy 

 breeds while being got up for show.. Although an unsoundness for the 

 time being, it should not be forgotten that they frequently disperse alto- 

 gether without showing any disposition to return. 



A similar condition may also be found to exist in the true hock-joint, 

 the capsule of which is made to bulge at the upper and inner part by 

 synovial distension, causing what is termed a "bog spavin" (Vol. II, p. 290). 

 Here again we have a state of unsoundness which, when occurring in young 

 animals, frequently disperses and may not recur. 



Having decided as to the presence or absence of bog spavin, the 

 examiner then passes the hand over the inner face of the joint, taking note 

 of any abnormal condition or swelling at the lower part, which is the seat 

 of bone spavin (Vol. II, p. 217). As to whether such a disease exists or 

 not is frequently a difficult and sometimes an impossible question to answer 

 correctly, even by the most accomplished expert. 



The conformation of the hock varies to a considerable extent in different 

 animals of the same variety, and in many instances in the two hocks of the 

 same animal, when the hocks are said to be " odd". 



In some they present a relatively flattened surface, the natural bony 

 prominences being slight, and the general outline of the joint is regular 

 and refined, while others are conspicuous by their coarseness, in which the 

 natural prominences of the bone are greatly exaggerated, and stand out 

 from the surface in bold projections. Such hocks are known as " coarse 

 hocks ", but in numerous instances, where the coarseness has been specially 

 marked over the seat of spavin, it has been mistaken for that disease. To 

 distinguish between the normal and the abnormal condition in these cases 

 needs not only a large experience of hocks at all periods of life, but a clear 

 comprehension of the anatomy of the part. 



Coarseness of the hocks is generally associated with the same condition 



