KNEE, FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. I99 



are more destructive to the usefulness and value of a horse than a con- 

 firmed spavin. Serious in its starting, serious in its progress, it it a 

 trouble which, when once established, becomes a fixed condition which 

 there are no known means of dislodging. The inflammation of the 

 periosteum which it nearly always follows, is usually the effect of some 

 cause operating upon the complicated structure of- the hock', such as a 

 sprain which has torn a ligament insertion and lacerated some of its 

 fibers; or a violent effort in jumping, galloping, or trotting, to which the 

 victim has been compelled by the torture of whip and spur while in use 

 by a sporting owner, under the pretext of "improving his breed"; or the 

 extra exertion of starting too heavy a load; or an effort to recover his 

 balance from a misstep; or slipping upon an icy surface; or sliding with 

 worn shoes upon a bad pavement, and other kindred causes. Further 

 there are families of horses in which this condition has been transmitted 

 from generation to generation, and animals otherwise of excellent forma- 

 tion rendered valueless by the misfortune of inherited spavin. 



The evil is of the most serious character for other reasons, among 

 which may be named the slowness of their development and the de- 

 termined growth. Among the signs that may be mentioned as indi. 

 eating this condition is a peculiar posture assumed by the patient whii(. 

 at rest, and becoming at length so habitual that it can not fail to suggest 

 the action of some hidden cause. The posture is due to the action ol 

 the abductor muscles, of the lower part of the leg being carried inwaid, and 

 the heel of the shoe resting on the toe of the opposite foot. Then an 

 unwillingness may be noticed in the animal to move from one side of the 

 stall to the other. When driven he will travel stiffly, and with a sort of 

 sidelong gate between the shafts, and after finishing his task aad resting 

 again in his stall, will pose with the toe pointing forward, the heel 

 raised, and the hock bent. Some little heat and considerable amount of 

 inflammation soon appears. The slight lameness which appears when 

 backing out of the stall ceases to be noticeable after a .•short distance 

 of travel. 



A minute examination of the hock will then begin to reveal the exist- 

 ence of a bony enlargement which may be detected just at the junction 

 of the hock and the cannon bone, on the inside and a little in front, and 

 evident to both sight and touch. This enlargement or bone spavin 

 grows rapidly and persistently and soon acquires dimensions which render 

 it impossible to doubt any longer its existence or its nature. The argu- 

 ment obtained by some that because these bony deposits are frequently 



