22 THE FAMIL5f HOESE. 



hour or so. It is also the actual seat of many supposed diseases of 

 the chest and shoulders. Thrush is marked by an offensive dis- 

 charge from the cleft of the frog, which may readily be seen by 

 hfting and examining the foot. Quittor is a suppurated condition 

 of the foot, which often manifests itself by a discharge of pus 

 through an opening immediately above the hoof. Ringbone is a 

 bony deposit on one of the pasterns near the joint. Windgalls are 

 little sacs on the fore or hind legs, wherever the tendons are exposed 

 to pressure or friction. They may be detected by passing the hand 

 carefully down the leg. Splints are bony tumors, which appear 

 on various parts of the shank bone. They do not always cause 

 unsoundness, but are blemishes. The hocks are subject to various 

 troubles, which should be looked for in buying a horse. A thor- 

 oughpin (1, figure 24) is a round swelling above the hock, similar to 

 a windgall. Curb (3, figure 24) is an enlargement at the back of the 

 hock, three or four inches below the point. Horses that are cow- 

 hocked (figure 22) are peculiarly liable to this. Spavins are of vari- 

 ous kinds. Bog spavins (2, figure 24) are enlargements on the inside 

 of the hock joint, caused by the escape of the synovial or lubricating 

 fluid of the joint. Youatt very aptly defines them as " windgalls of 

 the hock." Blood spavin is a similar swelling, filled with extra- 

 vasated blood. They are serious defects, which greatly impair the 

 value of a horse. Bone spavin is a still more formidable disease, 

 being a bony deposit in the hock joint, which destroys its elasticity, 

 and quite unfits the horse for anything but slow work. Capped hock 

 (4, figure 24) is a soft fluctuating tumor, covering the outer point 

 of the hock, caused by a hard blow, a concussion received in the 

 act of kicking, or other cause. It does not necessarily produce un- 

 soundness, but is a serious blemish. 



