818 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



such a defect in his equilibrium (parrot-toed, crooked-legged, bow- 

 legged, cow-hocked, under himself, etc.) ; that he is lame in one of 

 his members when warm or cold ; that he has heaves, rears, kicks, bites, 

 etc. This information is sometimes of great use, especially in gray 

 horses, which are so difficult to distinguish from one another. Needless 

 to say, these details are useful in legal documents. 



10th. Date of the Certificate. If a horse always retained the 

 same appearance, it would not be necessary to date the certificate. But 

 this precaution should never be neglected ; otherwise, it becomes im- 

 possible, at a later period, to verify the age, the height, the shade of 

 the coat, its peculiarities, etc. Besides, it enables us to ascertain the 

 changes which have taken place during the time intervening between 

 two successive certificates, and prevents us from erring as to the 

 authenticity of the first one. 



We have said at the commencement of this chapter that other facts 

 are sometimes mentioned in the certificate, such as the name of the horse, 

 his registration number, his price, as well as the name and address of 

 his owner. These four points needing no further explanation, we will 

 confine ourselves to their simple enumeration. The case is different, 

 however, with the pedigree and the performances. 



Pedigree. The term pedigree is synonymous with origin and 

 genealogy. In stallions, trotters, and runners it is especially important 

 to know the pedigree or genealogy. Farther on we will give some 

 examples of certificates to which are added these particular facts. 



The horse whose genealogy has been entered in the Stud-Book is 

 called traced; in the contrary case he is marked not traced. This 

 expression is especially applicable to thoroughbred and trotting-horses. 



Performances. This word is employed on the turf to indicate 

 the work which the race-horse is capable of accomplishing. We can 

 easily understand the importance which is attached to a knowledge of 

 these performances when it concerns animals designed for breeding 

 purposes or for the race-course. There is no public sale of running- 

 or trotting-horses in which the performances of each subject are not 

 given in a more or less explicit manner. 



In general, these certificates are rarely as detailed, and, to speak can- 

 didly, it is useless to complicate them except when they are liable to 

 figure in legal proceedings, or in the case of animals designed for 

 breeding purposes. 



Most often they are very concise, and are confined to a simple enu- 



