PART 11. 



The Diseases of the Horse. 



GEIfEEAL REMARKS 0:N" THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



Of all the domesticated animals, the horse is the one 

 whose diseases have received the closest study. Until the 

 present century he might justly have been considered the 

 most really valuable of the lower species. With our im- 

 proved modes of locomotion this is hardly now the case, and 

 the high esteem in which he is yet held arises largely from 

 tradition, the competition of traders and the love of display, 

 rather than his intrinsic worth to man. 



As he is most highly prized for the qualities of grace and 

 speed in motion, especial attention has been long paid to the 

 prevention and removal of whatever would impair these 

 powers ; and hence we shall have to consider a long list of 

 lamenesses in the horse, which deteriorate his value exceed- 

 ingly, while in other animals they are of little or no import- 

 ance whatever. This list is longer on account of the struc- 

 ture of the horse's leg and foot, which in delicacy and com- 

 plexity stands unsurpassed and probably unrivalled among 

 the wondrous exhibits of comparative anatomy. 



Another reason for our increased acquaintance with equine 

 diseases is that, as the horse, in this country at least, is not 

 fed for the table, there is no economy in knocking him in the 



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