i8 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



neck fine, withers short, and the back 

 sinks ; the lips exhibit a lean and shrivel- 

 led appearance, and the lower lip hangs 

 considerably below the upper. In youth 

 they are round and plump, and meet to- 

 gether, and the ridges of the roof of the 

 mouth will be found prominent. In age, 

 the middle of the nose will sometimes be 

 found indented by the long-continued 

 pressure of the nose-band of the head- 

 stall. In lifting his lip, if the incision 

 teeth shut close, even, and are perpen- 

 dicular, he is young. As he grows older 

 they project forward in a horizontal direc- 

 tion, and the upper and under edges do 

 not meet with evenness, the upper pro- 

 jecting over the under teeth. The longer 

 his teeth are, the gums being dry and 

 shrunk from them, the more advanced he 

 is in age. 



This appearance of his teeth cannot be 

 altered by the arts of the dealer. In 

 youth the teeth are flattened at front and 

 rear, and long from side to side; at eight 

 years old they are oval ; as age advances 

 they become round, and in extreme old 

 age triangular, yellow and incrusted, and 

 the tusks become blunt. 



If there are any marks of extraordinary 

 wear in the central teeth, there is reason 

 to suspect crib-biting, and in old cribbers, 

 the outer edge of the front teeth are worn 

 away, and little pieces are sometimes 

 broken off by the attrition against the 

 manger ; if such is the case, look to the 

 neck for marks of the "crib-biting strap." 



Dishonest dealers attempt to disguise 

 age, by reproducing the mark in the cor- 

 ner teeth by means of a hot iron or caus- 

 tic. The fraud is easily detected by a 

 horseman, as it is usually over-done, and 

 the marks do not correspond with the 

 length, shape, and duration of the teeth, 

 and the " bishoped" horse is usually loth 

 to have his mouth meddled with. 



Having attentively looked over the 

 horse as he stands, and discovered noth- 

 ing objectionable to the eye, it is prudent 

 to see him through his paces, before pro- 

 ceeding to ascertain, by careful examina- 

 tion, what defects, blemishes, etc., which 

 may have a tendency to produce un- 

 soundness, he is afflicted with; as the 

 action of a horse, when closely observed, 

 guides us to his defective points. 



He should first be walked, and then 

 trotted, without any whip near him, slow- 



ly down the ride, allowing the animal to 

 have the whole of the halter to himself; 

 his head will then be entirely uncon- 

 strained, and any irregularities in his 

 action are easily detected. 



The action should be scrutinized most 

 attentively immediately he steps off, as 

 defects are then most visible, for not un- 

 frequently lameness disappears after a few 

 moments' exercise. 



Should one of the fore feet be much 

 affected, it will be evident, by the up 

 and down motion of the head, and the 

 different degree of force with which he 

 puts his feet to the ground. Horses that 

 are lame before, drop their heads when 

 stepping on the sound leg, and raise it 

 when the weight is thrown on the lame 

 leg ; but when they are lame behind, the 

 action (though not perceptible) is re- 

 versed; they throw up their head a little 

 when the sound leg comes to the ground, 

 and depress it when the lame leg propels 

 the body, and the motion of the lame leg 

 is slow, while the sound one is jerked 

 quickly forward to sustain the weight. 



When both fore feet are equally tender 

 (which is not uncommon in groggy horses) 

 it is more difficult to judge of his action ; 

 it is not uneven, and the limp is not per- 

 ceptible, but he steps short and feelingly, 

 with a general appearance of contraction. 

 Dishonest dealers, at fairs and auctions, 

 resort to a scheme by which groggy lame- 

 ness in one leg is disguised by making the 

 motion even. It is known in various 

 parts by the slang terms of diamonding, 

 beaning, balancing, or wedging. 



It is performed by removing the shoe 

 of the sound foot, and paring out the sole 

 until it yields to the pressure of the thumb. 

 The shoe is then replaced, and a wedge 

 of wood, a pebble, or a bean is driven in 

 between the sole and shoe, until sufficient i 

 pain is produced to make the horse equal- 

 ly lame on both legs. Although the lame- 

 ness is less evident, yet a person accus- 

 tomed to the action of horses, will easily 

 detect it, and if the animal is allowed to 

 stand undisturbed, it will be evident some- 

 thing is wrong by his repeatedly shifting 

 his legs. 



Another trick of these ruffians, resorted 

 to to conceal lameness, or to give an ap- 

 pearance of energy to the sluggard or 

 worn-out horse, is the torture of the lash, 

 termed firing. The poor animal, pre- 



