54 THE HOUSE. 



STUMBLING. 



In the well-formed horse, stumbling is an impossibil- 

 ity, unless he is leg-weary, the shoes do not fit properly, or 

 the saddle hurts him; mind not what either the saddler 

 or groom says, but depend upon it that the saddle does 

 hurt him, if, upon examination, you find that the shoes * 

 do not hurt. I have seen too many instances of their mis- 

 takes to care what they say, and am convinced that very 

 few really know when a saddle does fit. I have bought 

 many horses that had got into disgrace for this fault, but 

 they have never stumbled after they came into my pos- 

 session. The secret was, I took care to have a saddle that 

 fitted both the horse and my own ideas. (See article on 

 Broken Knees. ) Persevere in using a misfitting saddle, 

 and the horse will fall. 



LAMENESS. 



Should your horse go lame behind when mounted, and 

 not at other times, as this most probably is caused by the 

 saddle pressing on the backbone, try another saddle. The 

 same remark applies to his going lame before, under sim- 

 ilar circumstances, except that in this case the saddle 

 hurts the foreparts. 



If, when -the saddle is changed, he goes free from lame- 

 ness, the animal may be considered SOUND. 



DROPPING BEFORE. 



Dropping before, or knuckling with the pastern joint 

 of the forefoot, if not occasioned by tender feet or weak- 

 ness, but arising solely from youth or carelessness, does 

 not affect the horse's soundness. 



The exceptions are treated under their respective heads; 

 in these cases horses are UNSOUND. 



