74 PATHOLOGY OF SPAVIN'. 



presence of lameness. I therefore sent the horse back into his 

 stable, with a message to his master to the purport that he must 

 have " fancied" his horse lame, for I could discover no lameness 

 about him. In the course of conversation, however, on the sub- 

 ject, the day following, the Captain persisted his horse had gone 

 palpably lame, although he afterwards admitted that the lameness 

 had disappeared in the course of his ride. Four days after this, 

 the horse was brought to me again, and on this occasion it was in 

 the morning, prior to his having had any exercise. The case was 

 now evident enough. The horse went limpingly lame in the near 

 hind limb, and I had hardly cast my eye upon it before a large and 

 prominent spavin caught my observation. This could not have 

 existed — at least in any such prominent form — at my first examina- 

 tion of the horse : the inevitable conclusion was, that the exostosis 

 had attained its prominency — although it might have, and pro- 

 bably had, existence before — in the short space of five days. 



In the next case I shall relate it will be seen that lameness for 

 some weeks preceded the detection of spavin. 



In March, 1843, Lord T requested my opinion of a bay 



horse, for which, if found sound by me, he was to pay £130. 

 The horse was brought out of his stable and run before me, when 

 scarcely had he proceeded half-a-dozen yards from me before it 

 seemed to me he went lame, and particularly in the turn ; though 

 when he came to trot back again he appeared to go quite sound ; 

 nor could I afterwards, at any moment on this occasion, detect that 

 which I fancied I had seen during his first run from me. Unsatis- 

 fied, however, with this examination, I ordered that he be left 

 standing in his stall until the following morning, when I would 

 see him out again. I did so, and again imagined something amount- 

 ing to lameness in the near hind leg, but which, as before, became 

 by exercise so speedily dissipated that doubt was renewed con- 

 cerning it. I resolved on seeing him a third time, and a third time 

 had the same impression made on my mind ; the result of which 

 last examination was, counsel to his lordship not to purchase. It 

 so happened, however, that the horse had, at the very strong recom- 

 mendation of a friend, been sent for from Ireland especially for his 

 lordship's purchase, with an assurance that he was sound ; and 



