HUNTERS 



the present, or at any future time. Sometimes 

 very large spavins never produce the slightest 

 lameness, whereas a small one commonly gives 

 rise to most persistent lameness. Perfect freedom 

 of hock action is a sine qua non in a hunter, 

 consequently, it is impossible to insist too 

 strongly upon the soundness of the hocks (see 

 chapter on conformation). A hock may be 

 spavined and yet there be no visible manifestation 

 of it, beyond lameness which seems to proceed 

 from this region. Such cases are spoken of as 

 " occult " spavin. The inflammatory action in these 

 instances is confined to the interstices of the small 

 bones of the hock, and the superficial deposition of 

 new bony tissue is not detectable either by sense of 

 sight or by touch. The most that can be said 

 is, that the lameness is obscure, and any opinion 

 as to Its induction from such cause purely 

 hypothetical. Young hunters are more prone 

 to develop this trouble than those that are 

 mature, and lameness in such is a frequent 

 occurrence, though not necessarily confined to 

 the formative stage of the disease. It is a 

 common observation that many instances of 

 spavin lameness are recurrent, though such 



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