SIGNS OF LAMENESS. 235 



terior to its fellow ; sometimes the toe only touching the ground ; 

 the whole of the limb semi-pendulous, consequent upon the 

 inability of the muscles to elevate and bring it forward without 

 pain ; as a man fails to lift his arm when his shoulder is injured 

 or diseased. 



If the lameness be in a hind limb, the patient may stand with 

 it either flexed, "knuckling over" at the fetlock, or with the 

 foot off the ground altogether. When he stands with his lame 

 (hind) leg in advance of the sound one, the position generally 

 indicates disease in or below the hock. 



A horse with acute pain in the fore feet will stand with his 

 hind ones advanced beneath the body, resting first one fore foot 

 and then the other, and every time he moves will rear up his 

 head, and stretch out his neck in expression of the pain he 

 suffers ; but should the pain be in both hind feet, he will stand 

 with his fore feet beneath his chest and towards the central line 

 of gravity ; his body pushed forwards, and head hung down, in 

 order to remove the weight as far as possible from the seat of 

 pain. He will first ease one hind foot, and then the other, 

 breathing heavily, and showing other signs of acute pain. Pain 

 in both hind feet often interferes with the act of urination, by 

 preventing that stretching of the body which is so characteristic 

 of that act in the horse. In such cases the poor patient will 

 endeavour to stretch himself, will elevate the tail, but with a 

 groan quickly assume his former posture, and suddenly " pick 

 up " the feet alternately. From this fact it is often supposed 

 that a horse suffering acute pain in the hind feet has some disease 

 of the urinary organs. 



The practitioner having satisfied himself which leg an animal 

 is lame in, he must now endeavour to find out the seat of its 

 cause. The late Professor Dick taught us to cause the shoe 

 to be removed, and the foot examined in every case of lame- 

 ness. This is a good rule to be followed, especially by young 

 practitioners. He used to relate a case (showing the importance 

 of this rule) where the os suffraginis was fractured. His great 

 skill in lameness led him to think, upon examination, that the 

 fracture was not the only cause of the lameness; he had the 

 shoe removed, and discovered a wound from a nail in the foot, 

 containing purulent matter. The fact of the horse being injured 

 in the foot explained the cause of the fracture, — the animal, on 



