FORMS OF UNSOUNDNESS. 



109 



tion, does not cause any marked lameness, there is no reason 

 to interfere with it. 



Curb has its seat very low down, at the back of the hock, 

 about five or six inches beneath the point of the hock. It 

 consists in an enlargement, which is easily visible when the 

 hind legs are looked at from the side. Curb is the result of 

 a sprain to the ligaments at the back of the hock. When a 

 curb first appears, or is '" sprung," it is soft and hot, and the 

 liorse shows more or less lameness. The treatment consists 



A Typical Hunter's Head. 



(Photo by Gr. H. Parsons.) 



in fomenting the part with hot water for a few days, and giv- 

 ing complete rest. The foot may be shod with a shoe pro- 

 vided Avitli calkins, in order to take the weight off the seat of 

 the curb. When all heat has disappeared, the part should be 

 blistered. Much of the swelling subsides with the subsidence 

 of the inflammation, but the enlargement termed a '"' curb " 

 remains ; this is hard in character. If, after a horse has sprung 



