CHOREA. 
607 
I should not, however, go so far as this by a great deal. I do 
not like these irregular distributions of vital energy. They argue 
disarrangement—disease of the system; and, 1 should say, a 
predisposition to greater derangement. Stringhalt is a sad in¬ 
convenience while it lasts. For the portion of time that it does 
last, it materially interferes with the speed of the horse; and I 
have thought that, while the general strength and endurance of 
many a horse affected with this spasmodic action could not be 
denied, yet that I could not recollect one horse of superior speed 
that had stringhalt. I have also thought, that the true expla¬ 
nation of the apparent strength and endurance of the horse with 
stringhalt is, that this affection, not being attended by those in¬ 
jurious consequences which such morbid, out-of-the-w’ay action 
would lead us to expect, we conclude, that the horse that bears 
it so well must necessarily be a strong and a good one. 
How connected xoith Soundness. —This decides, or rather I have 
already decided, the question of soundness. It is an irregular 
supply of, or disposition to be acted upon by, the nervous influ¬ 
ence : it is a diseased state of one or the other system, or both. It 
prevents us from suddenly and at once calling upon the horse for 
the full exercise of his speed and power, and therefore it is un¬ 
soundness : but it so little interferes with the general service of the 
horse, that it would not weigh a great deal against other manifest 
valuable qualities. I am not aware that this question has ever 
been mooted in a court of justice ; but I think that a horse with 
stringhalt should be considered as unsound. 
Chorea, 
One other disease of irregular distribution or reception of 
nervous power remains to be considered—that convulsive invo¬ 
luntary twitching of some muscle or set of muscles, which is 
known by the name of Chorea. 
In the Horse. —A few, and very few cases of it are recorded in 
the horse; and none of these bear all the characters of Chorea. 
Collier relates one in which it attacked both fore-legs, and espe¬ 
cially the left; but the affection was not constant. During five 
or six minutes the spasms were most violent, so that the horse 
was scarcely able to stand. The convulsions then became 
weaker, the interval between them increased, and at length they 
disappeared, leaving <a slight but temporary lameness. Every 
means of cure was fruitlessly tried; and the disease continued 
until the horse died of some other complaint. In another case 
it followed sudden suppression of the discharge of glanders, and 
disappearance of the enlarged glands. This, also, was intermit¬ 
tent during the life of the animal. 
