44 



•f one solid mass. When tfie inflammatory 

 attack commences in this part, bony matter \s 

 thrown out, and an union of these small bones 

 cnsueSy forming together a hard substance, per- 

 ceptible not only to the touch, but to the eye. 

 Wheil an union of these bones has taken place, 

 their original individual motion and elasticity 

 will be lost, and the result will be an incurable 

 lameness. The lameness, however, generally 

 begins before the spavin makes its appearance, 

 and then is the proper period for attempting a 

 cure, by preventing its formation by blistering 

 or firino-. 



On the first attack of a spavin the horse 

 steps short Avith the lame leg, and does not 

 bend his hough so much as in the healthy 

 state. The lameness, sometimes, goes off as 

 soon as the animal becomes warm by having 

 gone a mile or two ; but it returns as soon as 

 he has rested for a small length of time. 

 Hence it is more adviseable for the purchaser 

 of a horse to see him when first led out of the 

 stable, in which case the lameness will be 

 sulhcienth' manifest. 



Instances sometimes occur where horses have 

 been lame, at dii^^erent periods, for several 

 montlis prior to the formation of a spavin. 

 In such cases the lameness is connnonly at- 

 tiibNtt'd to some disease in tkc stifle, or in the 



