288 Management and Treatment of the Horse. 



if both, bones are alike on each leg; feel care- 

 fully round between the joints of the npper and 

 lower pastern, and if there is any enlargement no 

 doubt there is a ringbone forming. The hocks 

 should be carefully examined for '^ thorough-pin." 

 Notice if the point of the hocks are swollen or 

 what is called ^' capped " ; if they are, look out 

 for a kicker. See if there is any enlargement 

 about half way down the hock on the hinder 

 part of it ; if there is, he has a '^ curb," and it 

 is sure he has weak hocks. Examine narrowly 

 the inside of the hocks for bone spavin. Stand 

 in front of the horse, and look through between 

 its fore legs at its hocks, and you can detect the 

 least enlargement on the inside. The writer has 

 known some dealers point to a large bone spavin 

 and say the animal had a fine bony hock. De- 

 scend to the feet and examine for grease, look 

 out for sand-crack in the horny substance of the 

 hoof; see that there is no canker separating the 

 substance from the fleshy part of the hoof. Look 

 carefully under the heels of the shoes for a small 

 stone ; if you find one, be sure the horse has been 

 ^' beaned." This is done with a lame horse. 

 The bean is placed with a pair of pincers under 

 the heel of the shoe of the sound foot; this 

 causing the animal great pain makes it tread 

 heavily on the lame foot, so that it has the 

 appearance of being sound, whereas it is actually 

 lame on both fore legs. A "beaned" horse has 

 always a low action, and the dealers will say it 

 is only a natural low gait of action. Disbelieve 

 all their excuses, and err on the safe side by 



