306 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



vessel passing over the hock), but I never regarded 

 them, as I have always found them harmless. I 

 have also had several horses with every appearance 

 of hone-spavins — that is to say, bony enlargements 

 of the inside of the hock joint. It has been my good 

 fortune never to have suffered by their presence, no 

 lameness having been produced by them. Some 

 years since I sold a hunter for a good price in Mr 

 Tattersall's yard. " Do you warrant him sound ? " 

 said he. " To be sure I do," replied I : "I have 

 ridden him nearly three seasons, and he has never 

 been once lame." " But he has two bone-spavins," 

 resumed Mr T. "I know he has," was my reply. 

 The horse remained sound, and gave his owner the 

 greatest satisfaction. 



A bone-spavin consists of a variable-sized enlarge- 

 ment upon the inner and lower aspect of the 

 hock, affecting all classes of horses, from that of the 

 " Sheltie " to the Clydesdale. 



The bony deposit represents the legacy of an active 

 inflammation of the bone and its covering (periosteum) 

 at the area of the spavin, i.e. the enlargement, the 

 latter varying from about the size of a marble to that 

 of a child's fist, but size bears no relationship to the 

 degree (if such be present) of lameness. In other 

 words, a horse may have a huge spavin or spavins, 

 yet remains perfectly free from lameness, whereas 

 a trifling spavin sometimes causes persistent lameness. 



Hence the reason why veterinary surgeons lawfully 

 reject a spavined hock or hocks. The professional 

 examiner necessarily attaches greater importance 



