80 THE FORELEG AND SHOULDER. 



liable to fall. It is true, however, tliat now aim 

 then the injury has been such as to affect the 

 joints, and the bones of the knee, in such a way 

 as partially to stiffen it ; but this, compared with 

 the simple injury of the skin, is of rare occur- 

 rence. It is an easy matter to ascertain whether 

 the knee joint be perfect or not ; the purchaser 

 has only to lift the foot, and bend it backwards, 

 till the heel of the shoe touches the point of the 

 elbow. If it cannot be bent so far, the horse is 

 unsound, unfit for quick work, and liable to fall 

 at any M'ork on a rough road, or in deep ground. 

 But, of course, the degree of this unfitness and 

 liability will depend upon the degree in which 

 the knee is stiffened: but the least degree con- 

 stitutes unsoundness ; and I may observe, that 

 though there is a probability of the evil increas- 

 ing, yet there is none of its decreasing: and 

 knowing this, the purchaser wnll act accord- 

 ingly. 



When the hair is awanting in the front of the 

 knee, the horse is said to have had broken knees, 

 which shows how the evil is estimated. It is a 

 mere blemish, no unsoundness ; unless, as I have 

 already observed, the structure of the joint is 

 affected. 



