CHINKED BACK. /9 



If, however, the horse belonged to me, I should 

 shoot him instanter. The poor animal, however, 

 did not trouble either the veterinarian to pre- 

 scribe for him, or his master to destroy him. 

 An hour afterwards, after uttering a horrible 

 kind of shriek of agony, his hind parts fell under 

 him like a dog sitting, he rolled on his side and 

 died. 



Xo doubt, from not being accustomed to hold 

 back a loaded cart, he had slipped, and so far in- 

 jured the vertebrae that some motion afterwards 

 completed the dislocation ; for liad it happened all 

 at once he would have fallen in the shafts. 



A constant fear of something occurring to bring 

 on injury of the back to its climax, induces me so 

 strongly to object to horses thus affected. I trust 

 my reader will think my objection well founded. 



There are many horses that always crouch more 

 or less on being first mounted, and some that will 

 do so on the spine being pinched with the fingers, 

 that cannot be called unsound, or ever show any 

 other indication of injury to the part. I do not 

 say such a horse need be rejected ; I do not say 

 I would not buy one having this peculiarity ; but 

 I most certainly do say, I should never be per- 

 fectly easy about him, unless I knew he had fre- 

 quently been wrung by bad fitting or badly stufied 

 saddles ; which we can scarcely suppose would be 

 the fact if he belonged to gentlemen, though such 



