MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES 



LECTURE LI 

 UNSOUNDNESS 



If at any time a horse has any disease {e.g. bone spavin or 

 heaves) which actually makes him less capable of his proper 

 work, or which in its ordinary progress will diminish his natural 

 usefulness, he is unsound. A blemish, e.g. a barb-wire sear, 

 impairs appearance and sale value, but not actual service, and 

 is not an unsoundness. 



Soundness is usually relative, being; rarely if ever absolute 

 or perfect. What we mean in passing a horse as sound, is that 

 he is practically sound. 



To be sound, then, a horse must have no disease or other con- 

 dition that interferes or is likely to interfere with his useful- 

 ness. For instance, a horse may have a spavin, which both les- 

 sens his ability to work and injures his selling value. The same 

 would be true of heaves. A horse may have a disease from which 

 he will recover ; but at the time of examination, he "will be 

 technically unsound. 



Unsoundness may be temporary or permanent. Temporary 

 unsoundness may be illustrated by an intluenza, from which a 

 horse would probal)ly recover, or by a light sprain or an ankle 

 bruised from interfering. In the latter case the question would 

 arise at once as to whether the interfering was due to faulty 

 conformation or to faulty shoeing, for the latter could be easily 

 remedied. In the former case the condition would be incur- 

 able and serious; in the latter condition it would be unim- 

 portant. 



Normal conditions. — It is necessary first of all to become 

 familiar with the usual and unusual normal conditions and ap- 

 pearances for comparison. For instance, the hocks may be 

 perfectly sound, and yet have peculiar bony development. In 

 such case it will be found that both hocks are alike. The knees 

 may have a similar i)e('uliar development, and yet be perfectly 

 sound. 



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