380 CUTTIiXG. RiXGBONE. 



frequent and severe sprains, or by ill-judged and cruel exertion. Professor 

 Stewart very truly says, in liis 'Stable Economy,' that, 'it is common 

 among all kinds of fast workers, and long jou^rneys at a fast pace will make 

 almost any horse groggy. Bad shoeing and want of stable care may help 

 to increase, but never can alone produce grogginess. It is one of the 

 evils of excessive work. In the majority of cases it admits of no remedy.' 



CUTTING. 



The inside of the fetlock is often bruised by the shoe or the hoof of the 

 opposite foot. Many expedients used to be tried to remove this ; the 

 inside heel has been raised and lowered, and the outside raised and lowered ; 

 and sometimes one operation has succeeded, and sometimes the contrary ; 

 and there was no point so involved in obscurity, or so destitut-e of prin- 

 ciples to guide the practitioner. The most successful remedy, and that 

 which in the great majority of cases supersedes all others, is to put on a 

 shoe, of equal thickness from heel to toe, and having but one nail, and that 

 near the toe on the inside of the shoe ; care being taken that the shoe shall 

 not extend beyond the edge of the crust, and that the cnist shall be rasped 

 a little at the quarters. 



There are some defects, however, in the natural form of the horse, which 

 are the causes of cutting, and which no contrivance will remedy ; as when 

 the legs are placed too near to each other, or when the feet are turned 

 inward or outward. A horse with these defects should be carefully 

 examined at the inside of the fetlock, and if there are any sore or callous 

 places fi'om cutting, there will be a good reason for not purchasing the 

 animal. Some horses will cut only when they are fatigued or lame and 

 old ; many colts -will cut before they arrive at their ftdl strength. 



SPRAIN OP THE COFFIN-JOINT. 



The proof of this is when the lameness is sudden, and the heat and 

 tenderness are principally felt round the coronet. Bleeding at the toe, 

 physic, fomentation, and bhsters are the usual means adopted. This 

 lameness is not easily removed, even by a blister ; and if removed, like 

 sprains of the fetlock and of the back sinews, it is apt to return, and finally 

 produce a great deal of disorganisation and mischief in the foot. Sprain 

 of the coftin-joint sometimes becomes a very serious affair. Not being 

 always attended by any external swelling, and being detected only by heat 

 round the coronet, the scat of the lameness is often overlooked by the 

 groom and the farrier ; and the disease is suifered to become confirmed 

 before its nature is discovered. 



EINGBONE. 



Ringbone is a deposit of bony matter on one of the pasterns, and usually 

 near the joint. From a disposition to spread, and at first around the 

 pastern-joint, which is situated just above the coronet, the disease has 

 acquired the name of ringbone. 



Horses with short upright joints, and with small feet and liigh action, 

 are oftenest, as may be supposed, the subjects of this disease, which is the 

 consequence either of concussion or sprain of the pastern-joints. It is 

 also hereditary in its natui-e and may come on either with or without 

 inflammation. 



It is more frequent in the hind limb than the fore : from the violent 

 action of the hind legs in propelling the horse forward, the pasterns are 

 more subject to ligamentary injury ; yet the lameness is liot so great there, 

 because the disease is confined principally to the ligaments, and the bones 

 have not been injured by concussion : while, from the position of the fore 



