KNUCKLING OVEK, ETC. 95 



rests on becomes straight, there can be no doubt 

 but work, not nature, has made them crooked. 



I certainly do not consider that, speaking gene- 

 rally, horses standing trembling on their knees 

 are safe to ride, — not from their crookedness, but 

 from their trembling; yet this, like most other 

 things, has its exceptions, and many horses stand- 

 ing thus are quite safe. 



If the reader does not object to the appear- 

 ance of crooked or bent knees, whether natural 

 or arising from w^ork, he need not hesitate in 

 making the purchase from any apprehension of 

 lameness or unfitness for any task. 



KNUCKLING OVER ON THE HIND POSTERNS. 



I never heard of this unsightly peculiarity 

 being natural, nor ever saw an unworked colt 

 standing thus on the hind joints. It always pro- 

 ceeds from w^ork, though possibly that work may 

 not have been severe. It is an objection that 

 to me is paramount. It is no absolute injury to 

 the horse, nor is it of itself a source of lameness ; 

 still it is so unsightly, and confers so decidedly 

 a mean appearance on the animal, that I positively 

 would not accept one so circumstanced as a pre- 

 sent (that is, not to use). This want of flexibility 

 on the posterns often, indeed generally, goes off 

 after the horse has been some short time at 



