CHAP. I.] CURVED TREAD, LIABLE TO STRAIN. 43 



one inch ; the curved line shows the course, or 

 nearly so, the foot is thrown which belongs to an 

 ill-formed shoulder, that is contracted at the elbow ; 

 as this line is an inch and an eighth (or, 1 in. ~) in 

 length, the horse so formed does an eighth more 

 work than one with straight legs would do on going 

 over the same ground. See feet of fig. 6. also ; cat- 

 hammed, and knocked knees being similar disorders, 

 but never appearing together. 



In addition to his other evils, a horse with such 

 a shoulder (being muscular) is most liable to con- 

 tract " fistula in the withers ;" but, if not so mus- 

 cular, " strain of the shoulder" is likely to attend 

 his twisted manner of treading, when hard worked. 

 With such a built horse, " splents" are usually more 

 tedious than with a straight-limbed one ; and strains 

 of the sinews, i. e. of the tendon, as well as those of 

 the coffin- joint and navicula happen oftener, and 

 appear with worse symptoms, in proportion as the 

 limbs are more or less cross-built *. 



9. Long and sloping pasterns [Y, 13, 16, and Y, 

 34, 40] partly denote the Arabian blood, are hand- 

 some to view, and make easy goers ; but horses of 

 this built soon tire, and, we may say, are generally 

 weak, having the flexor tendon, or back sinew, con- 

 siderably relaxed, so as to render such a horse " a 

 high goer." The small pastern, or bone inserted 



* Respecting " Navicular diseases," and strain of the coffin-joint, 

 here adverted to, in conformity with the prevalent vulgar notion, the 

 reader will turn, profitably, to what is said on this debateable topic, 

 in book iii. chap. 1. as to the section of a Foot, there depicted. 



