98 WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 



over which a normal horse would have had little or no control, Ave 

 might regard it with less suspicion than we might otherwise do ; for 

 it is incontestable that a horse which has once been down, is gene- 

 rally more liable to stumble, than one whose knees have never come 

 in contact with the hard road. Although it would be foolish to 

 deny the fact that a blow inflicted on an imjDortant joint, like the 

 knee, has a great tendency to be followed by weakness of the struc- 

 tures of the part ; still, if after an exhaustive trial, we can detect 

 no indication of the existence of such weakness, or of any other 

 inability, it would be manifestly unfair to reject a horse because 

 he had suffered from an injury which might have had, but which 

 did not have an injurious result. Although a veterinary surgeon 

 should be particularly careful about giving a certificate of sound- 

 ness for a broken-kneed horse; he should not try to shield 

 himself, at the expense of the owner, from the possibility of 

 making a mistake. Practically speaking, only the slighter cases 

 of " broken " or, rather, " chipped " knees, should be passed. 



Wounds of the Mouth. 



These injuries are generally inflicted by the bit, especially with 

 recently broken-in animals; the chief seats of injury being the bars 

 of the mouth (interdental space) and the corners of the mouth. The 

 tongue may be torn by a man " hanging on " to it when giving a 

 ball, I have seen many instances of the tongue, bars and chin- 

 groove cut from the cruel application of a twitch over the lower 

 jaw. The pressure of the mouth-piece of a curb bit (especially with 

 long cheeks and a tight curb chain), and even of a snaffle (particu- 

 larly if the snaffle be thin, twisted, made of chain, or if it be vio- 

 lently " sawn " through the mouth), often bruises and lacerates the 

 bars. The action of a severe curb bit sometimes injures the bone of 

 the lower jaw, and even fractures it. A sharp and tight curb chain 

 not unfrequently wounds the chin-groove and lips. High ports have 

 gone so much out of fashion, that nowadays we rarely see injuries 

 inflicted by them on the roof of the mouth. The liability to be- 

 come wounded by the port is naturally increased by the use of a 

 tight noseband. I have seen the corners of the mouth rendered 

 very sore from a watering bridle being kept on the horse for several 

 days, and from the continued use of a wind sucking bit. I have 

 known the mouth excoriated by contact with a bit which had be- 

 come heated by the fierce rays of the sun in the tropics, and have 

 seen in Russia a like injury occur by the use of a bit which had been 

 rendered very cold by exposure to air of a low temperature during 

 winter. Sharp, projecting edges of the back teeth are apt to wound 

 the tongue. 



