228 THE PRACTICAL HORSE KEEPER. 



animal in the stable, when he is standing quietly, and free from 

 all excitement. He will then, if sound, often rest one hind-leg 

 by bending its fetlock, while he keeps both fore-legs firmly 

 planted. He will, after a time, ease the other hind-leg, which, 

 in its turn, will be relieved by its fellow, and so on. Although 

 he may stand with one fore-leg slightly advanced before the 

 other, still it will never, unless when diseased, be relieved of 

 its own share of weight, for he will always stand, when on 

 level ground, with equal bearing on both fore-legs. A fatigued 

 horse may rest a near hind and an off fore, or an off hind and 

 a near fore, alternately, without disease. A horse lame in one 

 fore-leg usually stands with his pastern straighter than that of 

 the sound one. 



If we find that the animal points with one foot, while 

 maintaining a position which indicates that he prefers to 

 stand in a constrained attitude rather than put weight on it, 

 we may reasonably suspect that limb. 



As a general rule, when the disease is in the front of the 

 foot, the animal rests his heel on the ground ; when towards 

 the heel, he points with the toes and raises the heel. The 

 former is the case with laminitis, and generally in ring-bone ; 

 the latter in confirmed navicular disease. 



In almost all cases of pointing, when the disease is not in 

 the foot, the horse keeps the foot flexed, and the heel conse- 

 quently raised. 



In bad cases of lameness in the hind-leg, the animal often 

 keeps the foot altogether off the ground. 



At the commencement of navicular disease, the horse 

 sometimes points with the heel down, but he soon commences 

 to bring the toe only to the ground, and to " round " the 

 fetlock joint. In other cases, the patient will stand perfectly 

 firm, although in the great majority of cases the pastern of the 

 lame limb is more upright than that of the sound one, as if he 

 feared to put much weight on it. 



