156 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



that move the rest. A clean, wiry leg, with the 

 sinews standing out like cords and feeling like 

 wire, is the leg to be desired ; and if it is of a 

 fair size it is better to leave the tape in your 

 pocket ! The bone of the carthorse, and its near 

 descendants, is much more porous than that of 

 the thoroughbred, which resembles ivory in its 

 density. Hence the smaller bone of a well-bred 

 horse may be in reality far stronger than the 

 larger leg of an underbred one. 



Q. Do not splints cripple a horse if close 

 to the knee, or touching the sinews ? 



A. Splints are most painful things while they 

 are forming, wherever they may be, and it is 

 impossible to know when they have finished 

 the process ! It may take only a few weeks, 

 and it may take two years ! But when they are 

 once really full grown they do not seem to 

 signify in any position, for Nature generally 

 accommodates herself to most things. Though 

 they usually appear on young horses, the writer 

 has more than once had horses throw them out, 

 for the first time, after the age of fourteen ! And 

 though they generally appear on the fore-legs, 

 they will sometimes form on the hind ones. 

 Very often when a horse has developed them 

 when young they will begin to disappear when 

 the animal is nine or ten years old, and finally 

 go away altogether. There are many remedies 

 advertised for their treatment, but though the 

 growth may be delayed, it is very apt to re- 

 commence at a subsequent period. 



Sometimes an obscure case of lameness occurs, 

 and it is suspected that the trouble is being 

 caused by the growth of a splint, either an old 



