458 PRELIMINAliy REMARKS. 



Class III. — Injuries arising to Animals while at 

 GrRASS.—In treating upon this class of injuries, the reader 

 should understand that we allude not only to adult animals, but 

 to young animals unbroken. The majority of injuries which 

 occur to horses while at grass, arises from kicking, galloping, 

 and leaping. They kick each other at times in a most savage 

 manner. In galloping they frequently sprain themselves, or 

 are severely injured from falls or violent concussions. In leap- 

 ing walls and hedges they are frequently bruised and staked. 

 They are also liable to suffer from injuries inflicted purposely 

 by malicious people. It is bad practice to turn horses to grass 

 where a footpath crosses the pasturage, particularly if near a 

 large town, or contiguous to the banks of a river. Vagabonds 

 are always wandering about such locaHties accompanied with 

 vicious dogs, under pretence of ratting. Now and then these 

 wretches take it into their heads to pitch at a mark with stones, 

 and on some occasions, instead of hitting the mark, they hit 

 the eye of some poor animal. Accidents, from causes of this 

 nature, are sadly too common, as many who own young stock 

 know to their cost. Turning young horses and horned cattle 

 together into the same pasture is not a practice to be approved 

 of. Sometimes a young horse will delight in racing and tor- 

 menting young cattle, and this sort of game frequently ends by 

 the latter becoming goaded to desperation, when a battle ensues, 

 in which the former not unfrequently receives its death-blow ; 

 or the horn of the beast inflicts an extensive flesh wound ; or 

 the cavity of the chest is entered ; or the abdomen is penetrated, 

 and the bowels protrude. We could relate many accidents of 

 this nature, some of them of a very singular character. 



The parts of the animal most frequently injured from the 

 operation of causes such as we have enumerated, are — the 

 thighs, the hocks (both upon their outer and inner siu'faces), 



