LAMENESS. 7 



One kind being those manifested through action ; the other such 

 as are discoverable by examination in a state of rest : by the first 

 we determine the limb or limbs shewing the lameness ; by the 

 second, the seat and nature of that which gives rise to the 

 lameness. 



The Determination of the lame Leg must be a settled 

 point before any step be taken to relieve the lameness. The appli- 

 cation of remedies to the sound instead of to the unsound limb has 

 more than once exposed to ridicule the too-confident master or the 

 cunning groom ; but, for a professional man to commit such a mis- 

 take, would expose him to something worse than ridicule — would 

 place him in the situation of the farrier who " cured " horses lame 

 from pricks in the feet by applying his dressings to the nail which 

 had inflicted the injury, instead of administering to the wounded 

 foot. A horse suffering acute pain in one of his legs will — if it be 

 a fore limb — as the phrase goes " point " the lame foot, i. e. place 

 it in an extended position in advance of its fellow, and in this 

 manner himself inform us, by such silent supplication for relief, 

 whereabouts he feels his pain. The animal will do this (point) while 

 standing in his stall even ; so that a person going into his stable 

 may, from this circumstance alone, not only discover a lame horse, 

 but also foretel the leg of which he will go lame. In qualification 

 of this remark, however, it must be added, that pointing does not 

 invariably denote lameness : some horses will point from a habit 

 they have contracted during some previous lameness ; others will 

 for the sake of ease or repose point, and thus rest first one fore foot 

 and then the other. Should the pain be in a hind limb, the animal 

 will either stand with it flexed, treading gingerly upon the tip of the 

 toe, or else carry the foot quite off" the ground, and thus, " cocked 

 up " — as the saying is — go hopping along upon three legs. A 

 horse with acute pain in both fore feet will stand with his hind 

 feet advanced underneath his belly, resting first one fore foot 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 : on the other 

 hand, should his hind feet be in pain, he will stand with his fore 

 limbs extended backward, towards the central line of gravity, 

 with his head hung down, lifting first one hind leg and then the 

 other. 



