HUNTERS. 29 



is discovered by standing behind the horse and comparing the 

 two quarters, when it will be found that one is more flat-sided 

 than the other. It is a common blemish in young horses on 

 farms. 



One of the most common of all kinds of unsoimdness 

 among hunters at fairs is " spavin." It is essentially necessary 

 to examine the hocks most closely and carefully, not only as 

 regards any disease in the hock itself, but also with respect to 

 its conformation. 



A horse may be bought at four years old with what are 

 called " coarse " or " rough " hocks, that is, hocks with large 

 bony prominences ; yet these hocks may be well shaped, large, 

 and clean, and the horse that owns them will remain sound for 

 years ; on the other hand, if we take another horse of the 

 same age, but with small, narrow, though " clean " hocks, and 

 no sign of spavin, the probability is that the spavin will appear 

 before long, especially if he does much galloping and jumping. 



A trick some dealers have, is to make a wound or scratch 

 over the enlargement of spavin ; they then say that the 

 swelling was caused by a kick, and direct attention to the scar 

 of the wound. A case in point came before the writer. The 

 horse had a large spavin, across which there was a long cicatrix 

 extending well back, where the enlargement was most pro- 

 minent; the owner gave a guarantee of soundness, but the 

 horse went lame the second time he was taken out, and was 

 returned. Cases of this kind show how necessary it is to be 

 careful with regard to examining hocks. 



Some dealers having a horse slightly lame from spavin, will 

 keep him continually on the move from one side of the stall 

 to the other, to keep off the stiffness when he is shown. As a 

 rule, the spavins on lame horses are large ones, and placed well 

 in front of the hock. If a number of horses going lame from 

 spavin are noticed, nine out of ten will have large spavins, 

 easy for any one to see. In the majority of cases, spavins in 



