230 DISEASES OF HORSES. 



into a Held of tares, and nothing more was done to him, nor further 

 notice taken of him, although so ill as to be unable to rise from the 

 ground when drawn there. By the time he had eaten all the tares 

 within his reach, he was enabled to struggle for more; and finally 

 he rose to extend his reach, and perfectly recovered. 



Diseases of me Extremities. 



76. Shoulder strains ^ are very rare ; most of the 

 lameness attributed to the shoulder belong to other 

 parts, and particularly to the feet. Out of one hundred 

 and twenty cases of lameness before, Blaine found that 

 three only arose from ligamentary or muscular exten- 

 sion of the shoulder, or rather of the abductor and 

 sustaining muscles: when shoulder strain does happen, 

 it is commonly the consequence of some slip, by which 

 the arm is forced violently forwards. It is less to be 

 wondered at than at first seems probable, that farriers 

 mistake foot lameness for shoulder strains, when we 

 reflect that a contracted foot occasions inaction, and 

 favouring of the limb; which thus w^astes the muscles 

 of the shoulder. Seeing that one shoulder is smaller 

 than the other, the evil is attributed to that, and it is 

 pegged, blistered, sw^am, and fired, to the torture of 

 the animal and the increase of the foot's contraction by 

 the confinement. In real shoulder strains, the toe is 

 drafrofed aloncr the s^round while in motion ; at rest it 

 is planted forward, but resting on the point of the toe. 

 When the lameness is in the foot, the horse points his 

 foot forward also, but he does so with the whole limb 

 unbent, and the foot flat. These diflerences are highly 

 necessary to be attended to, as well as the peculiar dif- 

 ficulty there is in moving down hill, which he does 

 with reluctance, and by swinging his leg round to 

 avoid flexing it. This lameness may be further brought 

 to the test by lifting up the fore leg considerably, which 



