,4 FORE LEGS SUORl.— LEAPING. 



often overlool/ ed, is no le?3 deserving of notice. The wound termeil "over- 

 reach" is inflicted by the hind-leg of this formation upon the fore one. " Forg- 

 ing" is, likewise, occasioned by the hinder toes striking the shoe or shoes of 

 the fore-feet ; and is sometimes brougnt on by injudicious shoeing on feet of tlie 

 very best construction, and a loose rein ; it is, therefore, to be corrected only 

 by the contrary practice, keeping the hind-toes short, and the heel of the fore- 

 foot low, and driving with the reins borne up. By these means, the fore- 

 hoof will spread at the heel, and the animal be enabled to take it out of the 

 way in time for the hind-foot to occupy the identical spot on the ground it had 

 just quitted; for very few horses have the greyhound tread of Eclipse beforo- 

 noticed, wherein the hind-feet tread much wider than the fore-feet. Neither 

 is such a gift desirable to any but racers, perhaps: nor is it, indeed, compati- 

 ble with the duties the generality of horses have to perform. 



The great additional labour horses with houghs so formed undergo, added 

 to the pain and anguish of continuing it, occasion irritation of the whole hind 

 quarter, that communicates itself to the region of the kidneys and intestines, 

 and superinduce inflammatory complaints, which frequently terminate unfa- 

 vourably. Constitutional diseases appear on the leg and foot behind oftener 

 than before; and those of the Coronet, with Curb, Thorough pin, spavin, 

 strains, windgall, scarcely fill up the cataloo[ue of evils caused by, or receiving 

 aoforavation from, too much expansion of the stifle, with its attendant, the 

 cat-hammed hough, and, consequently, a twisted tread of the hoof. No doubt 

 exists in my mind that Eclipse would have been a cat-hammed horse had he 

 been raced at two or three years old, as our practice now is: both he and 

 Flying Childers were five years old before they started on the turf. Heavy 

 long-legged children of our species, in like manner, become knock kneed men, 

 by being put on their legs too soon ; this form of their knees deprives them 

 of calves to thin ill-formed legs, and the thigh, too, seems wasted, when the 

 deformity is great. 



11. When the fore-legs are shortest, the horse, whilst going, nods his head 

 up and down a good deal, as he does when these are either weak, tired, or 

 tender of foot : when they are very feeble, without any other ailment, he car- 

 ries the head high constantly; but he works his head from side to side when 

 the same subjects of complaint assail the hind logs and feet. Poneys being 

 ever out of point in one or other of these respects, afford unerring proofs of 

 those remarks. The value and advantage of the straight position of a horse's 

 houghs are never more apparent than when he rises upon his haunches to take 

 a leap, a service which never was performed satisfactorily by a cat-hammed 

 horse, because he seems to hesitate about what shall be the distance between 

 his feet at the precise moment they are to leave the ground: a blunder which 

 is most visible in the standing leap, when the feet are seen first to straddle to 

 their utmost ; in an instant they are brought so close together as to lose all 

 purchase, and he goes over from an intermediate spot, the whole transaction 

 occupying as much time as does the counting of one, two, three, and away ! 



The motions of the head are always good indications of pleasure as well as 

 pain. A horse will frequently throw up his head, almost in his rider's face 

 (as if to rebuke his barbarity,) when he has been hit on the head or ears. (See 

 Section 16.) He looks at his flanks dolorously when affected by a dull pain 

 in the intestines ; if it be sharp pain, he turns about quicker : he thrusts hia 

 nose towards his chest, when pain assails his lungs generally ; but when one 

 lobe only is affected, he turns his head only to that side. If a horse be girthed 

 loo tight he will sometimes (justly) bite his tormentor, for this operation re- 

 tardslhe action of the muscles between the ribs and of the ribs themselves, so 

 that the lun^s do not get room to play. (See Section 31, and Introduction, 

 page 4. J old horse* contrive to avoid this punish.nenf by " holding tbcir 



