HORSE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



25 



for the proof, send for the farrier to re- 

 move the shoe. 



The stifle is very rarely diseased ; but 

 it should be examined for enlargement 

 or any marks of firing or blistering; and 

 the groin should not be overlooked for 

 rupture. 



The hock is one of the most important 

 joints in the animal machine, and should 

 always undergo a most rigid examination 

 previous to purchase, as from its compli- 

 cated structure, and the work it has to per- 

 form, it is the seat of lameness behind in 

 nine cases out of ten. 



When standing behind the horse, if one 

 of the hocks is diseased, the observer will 

 perceive the bone does not incline gradu- 

 ally, as in the sound limb, but there is an 

 abrupt prominence. Though to the un- 

 practiced eye this is not always percepti- 

 ble on comparing them, yet by passing 

 the hand down the inside of both hocks, 

 this abruptness will be felt. If there is 

 any tenderness or heat on pressure, or the 

 marks of recent cutting on the inside of 

 the fetlock, or unequal wear of the shoes, 

 especially at the toe, you may suspect 

 spavin. Sometimes both hocks present 

 an enlarged appearance, though there is 

 neither heat, pain nor lameness (for hock 

 lameness is frequently intermittent), such 

 hocks should always be looked upon with 

 suspicion; they are, in fact, unsound: for 

 though the animal may, with natural mal- 

 formation or exostial growth, the result 

 of disease, discharge his usual functions 

 through life without a return of lameness 

 in careful hands; yet the probability is 

 he will fail if called upon for any unusual 

 exertion, and that one day's extra work 

 will ruin him forever. In this case the 

 examinant must be guided by circum- 

 stances; if the horse has excellencies 

 which counterbalance the defect, the 

 price is correspondingly low, and if the 

 work required is but moderate, he may 

 be serviceable for many a year. 



Certain forms of hock are more subject 

 to disease ; those approaching each other, 

 termed low hocks, are predisposed to 

 spavin and curb; those in which the 

 point of the hock inclines too much back- 

 ward, are liable to spavin ; and when the 

 hock is too upright, narrow and straight, 

 it is subject to thoroughpin. Capped 

 hock is a soft, fluctuating tumor on the 

 point of the hock ; it is an enlargement 



of one of the mucous capstdes which sur- 

 round the tendons inserted into that part. 

 It is produced by blows, lying on rough 

 stones, or kicking in the harness or stable, 

 and is therefore frequently a sign of vice. 



Curb is a longitudinal swelling at the 

 back of the hind leg, three or four inches 

 below the hock, seen best from the horse's 

 side; the enlargement is the result of a 

 sudden strain of the annular ligaments, 

 or inflammation of the sheaths of the 

 tendon. It is attended with a good deal 

 of lameness and swelling at first; but 

 when that has subsided, and if any titae 

 has elapsed without a recurrence of the 

 lameness, it is of no more consequence 

 than the unsightly blemish ; but it should 

 be remembered that curby hocks are lia- 

 ble to spavin. 



Thoroughpin is situated above the 

 hock joint, between the flexors of the 

 hock and foot, projecting on each side ; 

 it is of the same nature as wind-galls, 

 being an enlarged mucous capsule, and 

 is indicative of severe work or over ex- 

 ertion. 



Bog, or blood, or spavin, is a swelling 

 situated in front of the hock, towards the 

 middle of the joint ; it is also an enlarged 

 mucous capsule, but deeper seated, over 

 which one of the subcutaneous veins 

 passing, the blood in which becoming 

 obstructed in the return, increases the size 

 of the tumor. 



The shanks should be scrutinized for 

 any symptoms of weakness, and the fet- 

 locks for marks of cutting ar*i wind- 

 galls. 



The front of the hind feet should be 

 examined for fissure ; it is a most serious 

 defect, and generally produces lameness. 

 Notice the way in which he is' shod, as 

 it leads to the discovery of lameness and 

 defects in action ; though in dealers' 

 stables you will rarely see any peculiarity 

 in shoeing. 



If the toe of the hind foot is found to 

 extend a little over the shoe, it is to pre- 

 vent "hammer and click" from being 

 audible. If the toes of the hind feet drag, 

 or we find the shoe squared off or worn, 

 we may suspect disease of the hocks ; and 

 if the inside of the shoe is beveled off, it 

 is the sign of a cutter. 



He should now be backed, to ascertain 

 if he has received any injury of the spine. 

 If he backs with difficulty, his hind quar- 



