AS TO "SOUNDNESS" 



is as durable as the smooth joint, if not more so, 

 and its very roughness and prominence about the 

 articulation seems to proclaim its rugged quality. 

 This roughness of the hock-joint, however, will 

 generally be found to be accompanied by the 

 same general characteristics in all the articulations 

 of the individual, and a truly " coarse hock " is 

 seldom or never present in an animal of otherwise 

 fine-grained quality ; nor is an animal likely to 

 have one coarse hock, and one smooth one ; in 

 either of these cases any deviation from smooth- 

 ness must logically be classed as true spavin. 

 Suspicion in any case may be made certainty by 

 driving the suspect until thoroughly warmed up, 

 leaving him in his stall for an hour or two, and 

 then re-examining him (watching especially how 

 he backs out of the stall) , and turning him sharply 

 both ways before trotting him, slowly, to halter, 

 and with his head loose. You may also hold his 

 foot well up against the stomach for a few 

 moments to cramp the hock-joint, and then trot 

 him again. If afflicted he will surely go lame, 

 although a ^sound horse will generally do the same 

 for a few steps, if you cramp the joint long enough. 

 Curb never matters provided the horse be 

 eight years old or more, has a naturally good and 



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