DEFECTS IN THE GAITS. 579 



proachable conformation, the horse has neither gait nor energy, and 

 trots under himself, because he lacks that qualification without which 

 the best-arranged mechanism loses all its value, the breeding, the blood. 

 Let us add, finally, that such restrained movements of the shoul- 

 ders are sometimes only temporary ; it is thus when the defect results 

 from extreme youth, insufficient training, weakness from certain path- 

 ological alterations, etc. Under these circumstances, it is possible, "\vith 

 good hygiene, abundant alimentation, and daily exercise judiciously 

 practised, to cause the disappearance of the defect. 



B. Defects existing in the Posterior Members Alone. 



1st. String-halt. String-halt, or dry spavin, is characterized by 

 a sudden jerking and somewhat convulsive flexion of the canon upon 

 the leg, to such a degree in some subjects that the anterior face of the 

 fetlock touches the inferior face of the abdomen. 



This sudden and exaggerated flexion of the hock affects sometimes 

 only one and sometimes both members. If, in the latter case, the action 

 of string-halt is very intense, locomotion, when the animal first starts 

 off, is very singular. 



The horse suffering from this affection presents absolutely no ex- 

 ternal lesion which will reveal its existence. It is only in the walk 

 more especially and in the trot that this symptom manifests itself. 

 More or less pronounced, and always more visible after a prolonged 

 rest, it sometimes disappears altogether during and immediately after 

 exercise. It may therefore be said to be of an intermittent nature, 

 since it may appear and disappear according to circumstances. Hence 

 H. Bouley has thought that this defect should be considered as a variety 

 of chronic intermittent lameness, and for this reason redhibitory, accord- 

 ing to the terms of Article II. of the law of August 2, 1884. We share 

 this opinion, but we know of no legal opinion that has been given on 

 the subject. 



What is the cause of this affection ? 



" The true cause of this flexion of the hock, more frequent in 

 well-bred horses than in those of the common races," says Lecoq, 1 

 " has not yet been recognized. To attribute it invariably to a dis- 

 ease of the hock is to forget that the osseous levers cannot be moved 

 isolately, and that the spasmodic flexion of one articulation suffices 

 to excite that of all the others. If the flexion of the hock is more 

 apparent to the eyes than that of the superior articulations, is this a 



i Lecoq., Inc. cit., 5e 6d., p. 388. 



