ee THE HortsE 



animal for harness work. A horse bought cheaply 

 because of some defect must, of com'se, always be 

 something in the natm^e of a gamble, but in the 

 case of the particular unsoundness in question, it 

 is safe to assert that once the inflammatory condi- 

 tion is dead, and the injured ligaments have as- 

 sumed their abnormal shape or position, the matter 

 is at an end, and the horse capable of ordinary 

 work. The worst to be feared is that the horse 

 may periodically go lame in the leg owing to 

 rheumatism in the altered structure ; but this is not 

 of common occurrence, although lameness in a leg 

 with a long-standing curb, unaccompanied by heat, 

 may perhaps be traced to something of a rheumatic 

 nature. 



Apparently sound horses which rest a hind leg 

 (or indeed any leg) at every opportunity should 

 not be purchased. If a horse is very tired after a 

 day's hunting or a long journey he often rests his 

 leg, but it will then be seen that he changes fre- 

 quently from one to the other, and favors neither. 

 He may also legitimateh^, when in his stable and 

 tired, point one fore and the opposite hind foot, 

 resting his nose meanwhile in the manger, in 

 which attitude he apparently goes to sleep. He 

 should not, however, habitually rest a certain leg 



