Examining «a Horse 65 
chorea, or stringhalt. .\ common symptom of this dis- 
ease is the apparent inability of the horse to lift the 
foot of the affected hind leg,—the foot is seemingly 
glued fast to the floor. After a considerable effort, the 
horse gets the foot loose, lifts it high and moves over 
with a kind of straddling hop. These symptoms are 
not shown when the horse is made to jump suddenly by 
the eut of a whip or slap of the hand; therefore such 
actions about a horse should be looked upon with sus- 
picion. It should also be noticed whether the horse 
~ stands squarely on his feet, or “points” a foot to get 
relief from lameness or soreness in the part. Halter- 
pulling is another vice which it is difficult to detect. <A 
sudden movement about the horse’s head, which startles 
him, will usually cause him to fly back on the halter, if 
he possesses this vice. Horses that are very strongly 
tied by ropes or similar arrangements about the head 
should be regarded with suspicion. 
EXAMINING OUT OF DOORS 
After the horse has been examined in the stall, he 
should be led out on level ground where the light is 
good, and every part of the body should be examined 
for defects and disease. It is usually a good plan to 
begin at one nostril and to go over the whole side of the 
animal; then, returning to the opposite nostril, to ex- 
amine the other side. The nostril should be examined 
for any sign of glanders, or other suspicious discharges. 
The mucous membranes lining the nostril should be of a 
healthy rose-pink color, free from ulcers, sears or dis- 
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