270 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 



his mouth, makes a convulsive effort to swallow it, and then 

 generally emits a guttural noise. They seem to be due to 

 irritation and idleness. Some authorities class these habits as 

 unsoundnesses rather than vices. They are objectionable 

 especially because the affected horse is a hard keeper and some- 

 what of a nuisance. 



Nymphomania is a disagreeable and dangerous vice of the 

 female accompanied by an excessive sexual desire. It is a great 

 source of annoyance to owners and caretakers. The causes 

 may be diseases of the generative organs, particularly the ovaries. 

 It is a symptom and not an independent disease. Affected 

 mares are irritable, ticklish and kick, squeal, strike, show frequent 

 desire to urinate, switch tail, and may be shy breeders. When 

 cows are affected they are commonly called "bullers" from con- 

 stantly trying to ride other cows. The treatment is to remove 

 the ovaries. This operation is not always successful in correcting 

 the habit, but usually is if the symptoms occur only when the 

 mare is in heat. 



DEFECTIVE CONFORMATION 



Defects in conformation and malformations of various kinds 

 should be avoided in horses used for breeding purposes. Although 

 these may not be of a nature to be classed with the unsoundnesses, 

 they do reduce the value of the animal. Some are inherited, 

 others are acquired. 



Badly formed limbs reduce the efficiency to a greater extent 

 than any other defect in conformation. To detect these varia- 

 tions from the normal, the horse must be inspected in the stand- 

 ing position from the front, the rear, and the sides. The com- 

 monest defects noticeable when the examiner is stationed either 

 directly in front or behind the horse are "base-narrow" and 

 "base- wide" deviations. The first gives too little support upon 

 the ground, while the latter tends to cause paddling and 

 interfering. 



In the fore limb is seen the "pigeon-toed" position, where the 

 limbs are straight to the fetlocks, but the pasterns and feet turn 

 in (Fig. 67). When the toes point obliquely outward there is 

 formed that awkward defective conformation termed "splay- 

 foot" (Fig. 68). Viewing the fore limbs in profile, we may find 



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