CHAP. I.] LAME SHOULDER. LEADING LEG, 53 



thrusts his nose towards his chest, when pain as- 

 sails his lungs generally ; but when one lobe only 

 is affected, he turns his head only to that side. If 

 a horse be girthed too tight he will sometimes 

 (justly) bite his tormentor, for this operation retards 

 the action of the muscles between the ribs and of 

 the ribs themselves, so that the lungs do not get 

 room to play. (See Section SI.) Old horses con- 

 trive to avoid this punishment by " holding their 

 wind," (i. e. keeping the lungs filled) during the 

 girthing ; a fine proof this of Nature's dealings, for 

 which they usually either get kicked under the belly, 

 or hit about the head; but both kinds of punish- 

 ment are the harbingers of further disease, viz. the 

 first of the blind gut, as described at Sections 48, 

 49 ; and the other leads to poll evil. 



A horse is frequently found to have contracted 

 lameness in the fore leg without showing any visible 

 sign of its exact situation, and applications, of the 

 oils to the shoulder is the usual remedy in the 

 hands of the generality of common farriers. Some 

 of them imagine the strain is situated lower in the 

 leg ; but they are no nearer the fact, .though they 

 are to the spot. A defect in the conformation of 

 the limbs occasions the foot which leads to come 

 upon the ground with more force than its fellow ; 

 the concussion of the hoof is greater, and is un- 

 equally placed when the leg is a-twist than in the 

 upright form; the leading leg tires sooner, and 

 the sensible sole becomes inflamed when the horse 

 is constantly urged to step out with it, the affliction 



d3 



