178 HORSES AND RIDIXa. 



I believe incurable, and the liabit increases. It is 

 supposed that a horse that does it does not keep his 

 condition well, but it is a mysterious complaint, and 

 I do not think much is known either about the 

 cause of it, or the effect it has on a horse. 



Weaving is another mysterious habit, and con- 

 sists in the horse standing still and swaying his 

 head first to one side of the stall and then to the 

 other. It is a trick common to horses and polar 

 bears, but I have never seen any other animals do it. 

 It has a tendency when much indulged in to make a 

 horse much thinner than he would otherwise be. 



I do not know whether the law holds that a 

 horse is returnable for it when warranted sound and 

 free from vice, but a horse is better without it. 



Speedy cutting is when a horse cuts one fore 

 leg immediately below the knee with the other foot. 

 It is dangerous, as a horse might throw himself 

 down by stunning his leg. 



Cutting is when a horse cuts one leg at the 

 fetlock, with the other foot. Both these complaints 

 arise from a horse having too narrow a chest, and as 

 a horse's chest has a tendency to get wider as he 

 gets older and thickens, these complaints often 

 disappear. A wide chested horse is exempt from 

 them. Either is a vexatious and troublesome com- 

 plaint. 



Overreaching is when a horse cuts his fore heel 

 with the shoe of his hind foot. It may be done 



