68 The Care of Animals 



boil. The knee should be examined for bony enlarge- 

 ments, wind - puffs and scars on the front. Scars in 

 this region indicate that the horse is a stumbler. Look 

 JQst below the knee on the inside for speedy cuts, scars 

 or bunches, due to the hitting of the opposite foot. 

 Splints should also be felt for, and looked for on the 

 inside of the fore leg, and bony bunches on the outside. 

 The front of the cannon bone should be smooth and free 

 from bunches and scars. The back tendons should be 

 smooth; if contracted, they give the knee a '' sprung" 

 appearance, as the horse stands squarely. Parallel 

 marks or scars resulting from "firing" should be looked 

 for. Above the fetlock the leg should be examined for 

 wind -puffs on either side, just in front of the tendons. 

 The fetlock and pastern joints should be examined for 

 ring-bones, bunches or scars. Small puffy enlarge- 

 ments over the large nerves which pass down toward 

 the back of the fetlock and along the edge of the ten- 

 dons, below the fetlock, indicate the injection of co- 

 caine, which is done to disguise lameness temporarily. 

 Scars in these places on both sides of the leg indicate 

 that the horse has been "nerved." Just at the top of 

 the hoof, on either side, the lateral cartilages should be 

 examined to see that they have not ossified, forming 

 side bones. 



The foot should be of good size and shape, free from 

 rings of horny growth, the wall not concave. The heels 

 should not be contracted. The wall should be carefully 

 examined for sand-cracks, quarter-cracks and seedy -toe, 

 the last a softening and degeneration of the wall at 

 the toe of the foot. The bottom of the foot should be 



