YO THE HOUSE 



of disorganization of this region is a bony enlarge- 

 ment, which is called bj horse-owners spavm. 



In the case in question the infla^med bones are 

 ultimately fused together by the deposit which 

 results from the inflammation, so that instead of 

 the front of the hock being composed of a column 

 of separate bones, each of which plays compara- 

 tively freely over the others and feels smooth to 

 the touch, it becomes fused into a rough, unsightly 

 mass. The seriousness of spavin depends largely 

 upon the extent and position of this fusion. If 

 only the cannon bone and median cuneiform are 

 involved, or even if fusion extends to the large 

 cuneiform also, the horse will be unsound, of 

 course, but not necessarily much the worse. But 

 if fusion extends higher up, between the large 

 cuneiform and astragalus, the horse will be unable 

 to bend liis hocks properly, and his capacity for 

 work will be very materially depreciated thereby. 

 Also the more to the front the fusion is, the 

 more serious it is. Therefore the seriousness or 

 otherwise of spavin depends mainly upon its ex- 

 tent and position, which are easily ascertained by 

 feeling for the rough bony deposit with the 

 fingers, and by noting the manner in which the 

 horse bends his hocks. A horse which cannot 



