268 THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOR. 



mon a disease of late, that if a purchaser finds a horse free from 

 blemish of this description, he considers himself fortunate. By 

 way of showing how little some people think of spavin, the fol- 

 lowing incident is related : The author was lately travelling in 

 the eastern part of Massachusetts, and had occasion to use a 

 team, which was procured at the village stable. The owner kindly 

 consented to drive to our destination, some four or five miles dis- 

 tant. During the journey the conversation turned upon horse- 

 ology. Our friend appeared to be well 'posted — knew every 

 horse in town, his cost, and present value. We remarked to 

 him that the horse he was then driving had a couple of spavins. 

 u 0," exclaimed the man, " that is nothing ; the horses in these 

 -parts are all spavined ! " 



" Pray," asked we, " what do you attribute all this to ? " 

 " The chief causes are, breeding from old, broken-down, spav- 

 ined mares and worthless studs ; and permitting the foal to run 

 by the side of its mother while she is in harness." 



Our own experience has taught us to look in this direction for 

 the causes ; and we feel assured that if breeders would be more 

 particular in the choice of both sire and dam, and leave the colt 

 at home, instead of trotting it to market, by the side of the 

 mare, — as is the fashion in the country, — and also pay attention 

 to the conditions which the law of physiology imperatively de- 

 mands for the maintenance of health and vigor, then there would 

 be few spavined horses. Here, then, is where our preventive 

 measures must commence ; for as sure as " like begets like," so 

 sure are spavins transmitted from parents to offspring. Not that 

 we would have the reader suppose that every case of spavin is 

 brought about in this way, or that every case is transmissible ; 

 for we know that hard work on our paved streets must tend to 

 inflame the inter-articular cartilages between the small bones of 

 the hock ; and this inflamed, bruised state of the parts may be 

 considered the primary stage of spavin. Concussion on pave- 

 ments, when the horse is in the act of drawing heavy loads, has 

 much to do with the production of spavin ; still, in the country, 

 where there are no pavements, we find the most spavined horses. 

 How shall we account for this ? It seems very probable that 

 great muscular exertion, in drawing a load up hill, or, in fact, 

 •lescending a slope rapidly with a load, may overtax the liga- 



