DETECTION OF LAMENESS. 227 



and then presses out the water. The amount injected will 

 depend upon the size of the animal ; from two to three quarts 

 would suffice for an ordinary-sized horse. 



DETECTION OF LAMENESS. 



Although the majority of people can tell when a horse is 

 very lame by his unequal gait, yet it requires much experience 

 to detect the leg upon which the horse is lame, and especially 

 if the lameness is slight; and still more experience, with a 

 certain amount of anatomical and physiological knowledge, is 

 needed to discover, in many cases, where the seat of lame- 

 ness is. 



Percivall defines lameness " as the manifestation in the 

 act of progression, by one or more of the limbs, of pain or 

 weakness, inability or impediment." Under this heading we 

 may, for convenience sake, include "pointing" of the foot, 

 any unnatural position assumed by the horse, and altered 

 action which indicates unsoundness. Irregularity of gait is 

 commonly supposed to constitute lameness, but we may have 

 a lame horse going level when he is equally affected in both 

 fore or in both hind legs. Although deficiency of action is its 

 usual cause, we find that in stringhalt lameness is due to its 

 excess. 



In the examination of a horse for lameness, we should first 

 endeavour to fix upon the affected leg, and then we should 

 try to discover the seat of the disease in that limb. When it 

 pains a horse, whether moving or standing still, to put the 

 natural share of weight on any particular leg, or to bend it, or 

 when he is unable to bend it with freedom, he is then lame. 

 Hence to detect lameness we should endeavour to observe any 

 tendency to favour one limb, or disinclination or inability to 

 bend it ; or any want of freedom in the gait. 



Pointing. Our first step should be, if possible, to see the 

 p 2 



