86 



ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 



a horse is sure on his front feet. Broken knees are a sign of a 

 failure at some time in his history ; hence a most careful scrutiny 

 of the front faces of his knees should be made. 



It often happens that a horse falls and bruises his knee in a 

 perfectly innocent way, but such happenings are rare. As a 

 rule, the fall is due 

 to some defect in 

 the horse himself. 

 The would-be pur- 

 chaser is wise who 

 rejects finally any 

 horse with broken 

 knees. 



The back tend- 

 ons, leading from 

 the trapezium t o 

 the pastern, when 

 strained, are causes 

 of lameness. This 

 strain occurs more 

 often in saddle 

 horses that are gal- 

 loped when tired. 

 It is noticeable by 

 an enlargement of 

 the tendon, or its 

 sheath, below the 

 knee, usually nearer 

 the knee than the 

 pastern, and a tendency to keep the knees bent forward when 

 at rest, to ease the strain on those tendons. 



A tendon is a dense, fibrous tissue that connects a muscle 

 with a bone. Its function is to transmit the energy developed 

 by the contraction of the muscle to the bone. 



Figure 60. — -Broken Knees. 



