34 SPRAINS. 



difficult becomes the task of the back tendons to save it from undue 

 strain. Hence, the well-known danger of inducing sprain of the 

 suspensory ligament by galloping on hard ground. 



The longer and more oblique the pasterns are, the more gradually 

 does the strain of work fall on the suspensory ligament, thus giving 

 the back tendons longer to contract and prevent excessive tension. 

 In India, where the " going " is very hard, oblique pasterns are 

 indispensable for horses intended for fast work. The mechanical 

 disadvantage entailed on the working of the back tendons by 

 obliquity of pastern is, under such conditions, more than com- 

 pensated for by the comparative immunity from injury thereby 

 conferred on the suspensory ligaments. When the ground is soft 

 and level, or inclined upwards to the front, the balance is in 

 favour of the more upright form of pastern, which is particularly 

 bad in going down hill; for the steeper the descent, the greater 

 is the proportion of weight the forehand has to support. This 

 fact is well understood by racing men, who always entertain great 

 prejudice against the chances of success of a horse with upright 

 pasterns, when he has to compete in a race, a considerable portion 

 of which is down a steep incline, as at Epsom. 



The proportion of weight normally borne by the fore legs of a 

 saddle-horse, especially when mounted, is greater than that sup- 

 ported by the hind ones, and it increases directly as the speed; 

 hence sprain of the suspensory ligaments is in the large majority 

 of cases confined to the fore legs. Some well-marked instances of 

 sprain of the suspensory ligaments, arid back tendons of the hind 

 legs, of hunters have been met with, however. These resulted 

 from the use of severe bits and the practice of keeping too tight 

 a hold of the reins when jumping. Consequently, such animals 

 on landing over a fence put an undue amount of weight on their 

 hind legs, in order to " save " their mouths. 



From both theoretical considerations, and practical observations, 

 it may be assumed that the suspensory ligaments of a saddle-horse 

 do not, as a rule, get sprained even at fast paces. The exceptions 

 are: when the animal becomes fatigued, is worked on hard 

 ground ; or when the severity of the bit, or the mismanagement 

 of the reins by the rider, prevents him from placing the proper 

 proportion of weight on his forehand in jumping. Undue or 

 unexpected strain probably takes place from the horse treading 

 on some inequality or from landing on hard ground when leaping. 

 The lessons to be drawn from these remarks are too obvious to 

 need being detailed. 



MANNER IN WHICH THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS OF 

 CART-HORSES GET SPRAINED.— Sprain of a suspensory liga- 



