CHAPTER XL 

 UNSOUNDNESS IN THE HORSE 



Soundness is a very vital factor in determining the value of a 

 horse, and a knowledge of unsoundness is very essential to success in 

 breeding. Brief description of the most common unsoundnesses has 

 been deferred until the close of the discussion of horses in order that 

 the student may learn to fix his attention, first of all, on type. The 

 matter of soundness, while important, is often overemphasized by 

 beginners. Presented here at the close, such information should serve 

 as an important supplement to preceding discussions of the types and 

 market classes of horses and mules. 



If a horse is unsound, his unsoundness may be accounted for in 

 one or more ways: (1) he may have had a natural weakness in con- 

 formation or structure which predisposed him to the unsoundness; (2) 

 he may have been strong in conformation, but forced to do extreme 

 labor which was beyond the power of the animal machine to endure; 

 (3) the unsoundness may be the result of a bruise, blow, cut, or other 

 injury; (4) unsoundness may result following a diseased condition of 

 some part of the body and (5) lack of proper care, as, for example, 

 failure to keep the feet in proper balance so as to distribute the weight 

 and wear equally over the various parts of the foot and- leg, may bring 

 on unsoundness. In the horse for work, it matters little which of the 

 above explanations applies; he is unsound, and the horse market fixes 

 his value according to the nature of the unsoundness, without regard 

 to the reason why the horse has it. In the horse intended for breeding 

 purposes only, unsoundness should not be considered a serious detri- 

 ment unless it is explained by the first of the possibilities listed above, 

 For example, it is wiser to breed to a horse having a naturally strong 

 hock which, because of accident or extreme work, has developed a 

 bone spavin, than it is to breed to a sound horse having a weakly 

 formed hock which is free from bone spavin only because it has never 

 been put to the test of even moderate work. It is often difficult, how- 

 ever, to determine with accuracy the reason for an unsoundness, and 

 in all such doubtful cases the unsoundness should be looked upon with 

 suspicion and the horse rejected for breeding purposes. 



Certain unsoundnesses are ordinarily referred to as "hereditary," 

 on account of their marked tendency to reappear in succeeding genera- 

 tions. More correctly, however, it is some weakness of conformation 

 that is transmitted which predisposes the members of the family to 



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