290 SPAVIN. 
while, by an involuntary movement within the hock-joint, the hoof is in- 
clined outward. This peculiarity is exhibited in the engraving on page 289, 
which supposes the spectator to be standing by the side of the animals. 
Exostosis, formed on any part, locks together the bones which the 
deposit may involve, or it unites the several distinct parts into one 
osseous mass. By the bones of the hock being thus joined, all movement 
of the shin is effectually prevented; the foot of a spavined horse is, to 
a spectator who is laterally situated, always presented in a side view. 
Moreover, when severe spavin is present, the entire flexion of the lower 
portion of the limb is rendered impossible. 
The toes being moved along, instead of being lifted from the ground, 
occasions the hoof and shoe to suffer wear. The hoof 
generally presents a toe blunted by perpetual friction ; 
while the shoe of a spavined horse is, in front, worn to 
a state of positive sharpness. These indications of dis- 
ease should always be sought for, and, when present, 
they are so obvious as hardly to be mistaken. 
Another test for spavin consists in observation made 
“NED LIMB, showixnad upon the manner of going. A horse thus affected comes 
THE WEAR OF THE . . 
gonortHaHoorann Out of the stable always stiff, and sometimes lame. 
SHOE; BOTH ARE CON- : : a 
sequent upon prac- Exercise, by warming the body, seems to soften the 
Gbow te gnouwn, stubbornness of the disease ; and the same animal, which 
left the stable in a crippled condition, may return to it 
in a state which, to the generality of gentlemen, would represent sound- 
ness. So well are dealers acquainted with this fact, that it is a custom 
with these folks for a spavined horse to be warmed before it is shown to 
a probable purchaser. No person, however, should hazard an opinion 
on any quadruped which is not perfectly cool, especially when there is a 
motive to be suspected of the slightest desire for a favorable judgment. 
The horse which, after exercise, should trot past with no obvious sign 
of spavin, having stood for an hour in the stable, would come forth a 
decided cripple, or, at all events, with such faulty action that a novice 
would immediately detect something wrong about the legs. This 
peculiarity is illustrated by the engraving which heads the present 
chapter. 
Should the dealer refuse to exhibit the animal when cool, such refusal 
would be convincing evidence as to the condition of the horse. The 
sale should, under such circumstances, be at once repudiated. 
However, when judging of disease, it is always well to divest the mind 
of every kind of prejudice. Animals of a certain kind of conformation 
are said to be disposed, or to be more than ordinarily subject, to spavin. 
Creatures of the foregoing sort show what are denominated sickle-hocks 
