HUNTERS 215 



hock, and vice versa. In the latter case there 

 is first a droop of the hip until the foot is about 

 to be placed on the ground, when it is jerked 

 upward. 



Q. Does it matter on what sort of ground the 

 horse is trotted ? 



A. The horse should first be trotted on hard 

 ground on the level, and then on soft ground if 

 necessary. It may further be trotted up, and 

 then down an incline, to help a decision to be 

 made in obscure cases. 



Q. What is learned from these different 

 methods ? 



A, A horse that is slightly lame on account of 

 a splint forming, or in the foot, will show uneven- 

 ness in action on hard ground, such as a road, but 

 may go nearly, if not quite sound, when trotted 

 on soft turf. On the other hand, horses lame 

 from muscular ailments, or when the tendons or 

 joints are affected, go quite as lame in deep as on 

 hard ground, even if not more so. 



A horse lame in front may trot almost sound 

 uphill, and go proppy at once when coming down 

 an incline ; while the contrary is the case when 

 the lameness is behind.' 



The first thing to do, before having the horse 

 trotted, is to visit it in the stable when in a state 

 of rest, and observe the position in which it stands. 

 Grooms too frequently give a horse a slap with 

 the hand, and then take hold of its head-collar and 

 move the animal when a visitor approaches, wish- 

 ing to try and make it look its best ; if such a 

 thing should happen, wait a few minutes and 

 engage in conversation until the horse relapses 



