THE HIND-LEG 35 



much difficulty should be experienced in detect- 



mof it. 



A horse with a bone-spavin should be cast, 

 and not purchased on any account, if the animal 

 is required for fast work, or even for any hard 

 work at all, as the bones of the joint being 

 cemented together, as it were, by the bony 

 matter which is thrown out, the animal is almost 

 sure to go lame ; the lameness being of a very 

 troublesome character, not much can be done for 

 it. The only cure for these bony formations is 

 blistering, or firing and blistering, and this treat- 

 ment is far from being always successful. 



Bog-spavin. — Bog -spavin is a fluctuating, 

 tense swelling situated at the anterior and inner 

 part of the hock, and is due to the presence of a 

 quantity of fluid from various causes, the chief 

 cause being sprain of the capsular ligament of 

 the joint. 



If the swelling is hot and inflamed, it denotes 

 that some structural change is going on within 

 the joint, and the horse may go lame ; but, as a 

 rule, bog-spavins do not cause lameness unless 

 they are very large. Not much can be done in 



