: AS TO SOUNDNESS. 129 
this time, so they fire both, that he may not unduly rest 
upon the sound limb. That horses throw out spavins in 
their sound hocks during the few days or few weeks that 
first elapse after the spavined hock has been fired, is 
matter of common observation. Professor Dick used to 
condemn the practice, in the early part of his career, 
of firing a sound hock: at the time its spavined fellow was 
undergoing the ordeal. His motto was, “Let sleeping 
dogs lie.” Now, gentlemen, that is just what one would 
like to do, only they won’t ‘e when trodden upon. 
When a spavin is thrown out upon a hock, it is not 
necessarily because that hock is inferior in form and 
‘quality to its fellow, neither is it on account of its having 
been more wsed than its fellow, but rather that the lower 
bones of each hock are in the ¢yansition (functionally 
active) state I have before pointed out to you. The 
lower bones of each hock are alike preparing to become 
glued together ; and in this sensitive state, the least extra 
weight thrown on them wakes up a process which at best 
is only lightly sleeping. This being so, the custom of 
firing what, to all outward appearance, is a sound hock, 
is an empirical proceeding based on true observation, 
but which is, after all, a scientific, as it most certainly 
is a most useful, proceeding, which can only be con- 
demned on the plea that firing is an extremely painful 
operation, or that we have no physical evidence of the 
hock being on the verge of disease. I cannot leave 
this subject without adverting to the rather prevalent 
notion that is abroad among horsemen in many parts. 
9 
