8 EXAMINATION OF HORSES 
to every stableman. But he may be lame on a hind» 
leg ; and what is more, he may be standing upon it, 
and resting the sound leg, on account of his having 
stood so long on the latter as to tire it and make it 
painful, so that nothing short of an unusual attitude 
or some visible defect can justify your coming to any 
definite conclusion with regard to the hind legs, seen 
merely in the stable. 
If you have spent ten minutes very quietly watching, 
and, provided there is no disturbance, have seen nothing 
unusual, you may now make the horse “stand over” 
briskly in his stall, and watch for evidences of ‘“spavin”' 
or “stringhalt.” It is not-the best situation for seeing 
either; but we can frequently detect them in this way, 
and we should resort to all the means of detecting 
disease we know. There are sources of error here 
which have to be attended to, with regard to this test 
tor “stringhalt.” If a horse has been used to standing 
deeply in new straw, he will get into the habit of 
catching up his feet higher than usual when “standing 
over,” even though there should be at the time no 
straw at all. Of course, such an occurrence is rare ; 
but it is these rare occurrences that are so apt to be 
overlooked. “Spavin” is by no means rarely detected 
under these circumstances, and when it can be detected 
under no others. You will read of, and be told of, 
such a thing as “latent spavin.” We all know what 
latent disease is, but latent “spavin,” I may tell you, 
is that form of lameness referable to the hock, when 
