CAUSES OF UNSOUNDNESS. 113 



trouble. A bruise may be recent ; if so, it is ac- 

 companied by increased heat and tenderness ; but 

 if old, there will, very likely, be one or more sup- 

 purating sores upon the withers. A horse in this 

 condition is necessarily unsound and quite unfit 

 for work. Horses with long manes should be 

 carefully examined in order to ascertain whether 

 the withers are perfectly free from any skin 

 disease, because this is a very common situation 

 for mange, etc., to make its appearance. 



The Chest and Ribs; also the Brisket. 



The chest is principally formed by the ribs, and 

 a considerable portion of it Hes under the shoulder- 

 blades, but the greater part behind the elbows, 

 extending up to the spinal column. The floor of 

 the chest is formed by the sternum or the breast 

 bone, and this is sometimes the seat of fistula — a 

 very intractable disease. 



The Back and Loins. 



Anchylosis, or stiffening of the bones of the back, 

 is not an uncommon result of injury, and it 

 materially interferes with the utiHty of the animal, 

 because the individual bones of the spinal column 

 have lost their normal degree of mobility and the . 



8 



