506 
W. H. DALRYMPLE. 
times such as when first starting off after a lengthened 
“ check ” in the hunting-field, but the inequality in her gait 
disappeared as soon as she got “ warmed up.” 
He also told us he had examined the limb thoroughly, 
paying careful attention to the hock, but he could find noth¬ 
ing whatever to account for the lameness. We then exam¬ 
ined the limb, being somewhat suspicious of hock-lameness, 
viewed it from all points, passed our hand over it, made com¬ 
parisons with the other, etc., and could not find the slightest 
irregularity to mar the symmetry of as fine a pair of limbs as 
ever supported a horse. Some other ground had to be ex¬ 
plored to reveal the, so far, hidden cause. We had the 
blanket removed (the weather was cold and the mare closely 
clipped) and on “ taking in ” the off-side from head to tail, as 
it were, we observed on that side of the withers a large 
cicatrix, which, when recent, must have been a very ugly gall, 
and involved a good deal of subcutaneous tissue. It struck 
us at once we had found a clue. Remembering about the 
lameness when starting off, and also when asked to move after 
having cooled off a little, we turned the condition of affairs 
over in our mind thoroughly before finally giving our opin¬ 
ion. We said to the groom : “ The mare is not lame from 
any pathological condition in the limb, but from the scar on 
the off-side of the withers.” He looked at us in utter aston¬ 
ishment, thinking of our opinion, perhaps, more than he cared 
to give expression to, but he ventured to remark: “ It s along 
way off to cause the mare to go lame behind.” We told him 
we would give him our reasons for such a far-fetched opinion, 
viz : When a portion of the weight of the lady and the sad¬ 
dle are brought to bear on the scar, which is tender and 
probably painful from the previous day’s friction, the mare 
tries to save herself further pain by taking a shorter stride 
with the hind limb of that side. Were she to stride normally 
she would, through continuity of skin and muscular tissue, 
drag the part to some extent under the saddle, thereby cause 
more friction, and consequently more pain at every step. A 
few months after when in London, we received a communi¬ 
cation from the groom to the effect that his master (an old 
