350 
W. BRYDEN. 
whicii in its application to the diseases of the horse’s feet 
and limbs has often been exaggerated and misunderstood, attrib¬ 
uting to it what really belonged to other factors. In a single 
individual this mysterious process may exert itself in both a right 
and wrong direction. In the offspring of one combination it may 
be most pronounced, while in still another apparently more ob¬ 
noxious, it may be so dilute as to be hardly recognizable. A 
young animal bred from parents having diseased hocks or defects, 
such as spring-halt or pacing, when found to be similarly 
affected, would seem to be prima facia evidence of hereditary 
transmission, but when we reflect that such animal having been 
brought up under precisely similar conditions and surroundings 
as its progenitors, it would be quite remarkable if it did not de¬ 
velop somewhat similar undesirable characteristics. A shrub by 
the seaside, if exposed to the full sweep of the ocean’s gales, has 
its limbs all on one side; the same shrub if grown further inland 
and less exposed, would have its branches evenly arranged. A 
mare suffering from spavin, for example, has in addition to the 
changes in the foot and limb, a condition of the whole quarter 
that renders her less robust than if perfectly sound. The gluteals 
are changed, the hip is dimpled, the pelvis is twisted, the tail is 
carried to the affected side, the genitals are softer, aestrum is 
often irregular and impregnation accomplished only after repeated 
trials. The young of such an animal may not necessarily be 
spavined, but being less robust than if from sound parentage, is 
more liable to be affected adversely by the influences to which 
it is exposed. 
Many of these processes that at first glance appear mysterious 
are found on closer acquaintance to be capable of easy com¬ 
prehension ; it is therefore of the utmost importance that we try 
to arrive at something like the exact proportions of a subject like 
this, neither undervaluing nor over estimating its wonderful sig¬ 
nificance. Having already intimated “ that many districts have 
hoofs characteristic of the locality in which they were grown, 
with limbs and general conformation to correspond, and that 
diseased limbs have hoofs characteristic of the disease,” it does 
not appear to me to follow that because a horse born and brought 
