HOW TO BUY AND SELL. 95 



body; and, with a view to effecting this with speed, they 

 are of necessity longer than the 'fore ones. 



I think it is needless for me to enter into reasons fur- 

 ther than to say that, for the convenience of the animal, 

 and with a view to his adaptability to his work, his hind- 

 legs are bent, and therefore full of springs, which render 

 the hind-feet much less liable to the many diseases to 

 which the fore ones are prone; indeed, so rarely are the 

 hind-feet affected by navicular disease, pumice sole, or the 

 various evils resulting from concussion, that, when such 

 maladies do appear, they may be considered as extraor- 

 dinary exceptions to the rule. 



We may then be justified in saying that horses do not 

 have these diseases in their hind-feet, and that, conse- 

 quently, there is less use made of the pastern joints here, 

 than in the fore-feet. 



If the knuckling does not interfere with the action of 

 the horse (however unsightly the defect may be), he is 



SOUND. 



But such unsightliness is considered to be a 



BLEMISH. 



When the uprightness impedes the action of the horse, 

 or renders him incapable of performing the work due from 

 one of his class, he is UNSOUND. 



KNUCKLING. 



Though uprightness and knuckling are frequently used 

 indiscriminately for the same fault, some persons make 

 the distinction, that the former consists in perpendicu- 

 larity, while the latter implies " bending over" at the 

 pastern-joint. If there is any difference between the 

 two, knuckling may be considered to be the more ag- 

 gravated form. A horse that knuckles over is 



UNSOUND. 



