DEFECTS IN THE HORSE 197 



Lameness is due to various causes and is seen under a 

 variety of conditions. No matter what the cause, lameness 

 will stand as a defect, if not an evidence of unsoundness, 

 and will seriously affect either selling value, or rating in a 

 show ring. In fact it would not be good judgment to place 

 a lame horse in the show ring, because the judge would 

 be obliged to regard him as out of serious competition. It 

 is important that a judge should be able to detect lameness 

 and recognize the specific region of trouble, and the cause 

 or causes. In an important discussion of lameness 1 as 

 quoted in the following paragraphs, Dr. Frederick B. Had- 

 ley gives information that should be reasonably familiar 

 to all qualified judges of horses : ' ' Lameness has been de- 

 fined as any irregularity in gait. It is the most serious 

 impediment that may befall a horse because of its frequent 

 occurrence. From a diagnostic point of view, it is neces- 

 sary to distinguish between a 'swinging leg lameness ' in 

 which the pain emanates from the shoulder or the hip, and 

 a 'supporting leg lameness/ in which the lesion is in the 

 knee, hock or lower part of the leg. 



"To detect lameness, the examiner ought to observe the 

 animal at rest. In severe cases he may recognize that pain 

 exists by the horse pointing, frequently raising the affected 

 limb or placing the affected part in an unnatural position 

 for relief. Next, the animal should be trotted past, away 

 from, and toward the observer. The attendant must not 

 take too short a hold on the halter shank, as it would inter- 

 fere with free movements. The head and hips are to be 

 closely watched at this time, as their movements are a re- 

 liable guide in locating the seat of lameness. 



"If lame in the right foreleg, for example, the head will 

 'nod' or 'bob' when the left or sound foot is planted on 

 the ground, while the head jerks up at the moment the right 

 or lame foot touches the ground. 



"When lameness exists in both forelegs the action is 

 stiff and stilty, the natural stride is shortened, and the feet 



*The Horse in Health and Disease, 1915, p. 192. 



