CAEE AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 759 



cracked heels, ' mud ' fever, and thrush, have received 

 also attention. 



THE HORSE AT WOEK. 



Horses are kept for pleasure or business ; in either case 

 they are called upon to perform work, though of different 

 degrees of severity and regularity, and under widely different 

 circumstances. The nature of the work consists in either 

 carrying a weight or dragging a load, and in the perform- 

 ance of these there is by no means uniformity of ideas as 

 to what constitutes a fair day's work. 



Wea7- and Tear. — As a general rule it may be said that 

 the capacity of the horse for work is overestimated, often 

 from ignorance, frequently from indifference ; the only 

 standard by which his capacity for work can be measured 

 is by his condition, it being assumed if there is no loss of 

 condition the work is not excessive. Nor are we disposed 

 to suggest that this rule is not a good practical guide, and 

 perhaps in the present state of our knowledge the only one 

 available, but there is another aspect of the case, and that 

 is that though the general condition is a sure index of work 

 as affecting the muscles, it is no guide as to the influence 

 of work on the limbs. 



The limbs of horses suffer from disease out of all propor- 

 tion to the other part of the body, and broadly speaking 

 these diseases are due to work. Less work would mean 

 less lameness, and the question is whether it is possible to 

 tell when horses are performing work which though not 

 beyond their muscular effort is in excess of what their limbs 

 can perform. 



As a matter of fact the highly trained eye is capable, as 

 a rule, of forming a fairly correct judgment on these 

 matters, and such judgment is based upon the age of the 

 horse, the make and shape of the limbs, the nature of the 

 work and class of ground over which it is performed, the 

 weight carried or drawn, and finally the condition presented 

 by the limbs. These several factors have all to be con- 



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