Horse How to Care For It

7/28/2019 Horse How to Care For It

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THE HORSE- DAYIES


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Fig. 1. The Extkenal Paets of the Horse1. Head2. Neck3. Shoulder4. Withers5. Forearm6. Knee7. Shauk

8. Fetlock9. Pastern

10. Hoof11. Back12. Ribs13. Loin14. Flank

15. Belly16. Brisket17. Cronp18. Thigh19. Gaskin20. Hock


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The HorseAnd How to Carefor Him

BY

C. T. Davies

HOW TO CHOOSE A HORSE,TELL HIS AGE, FEED,STABLE, HARNESS ANDTRAIN HIM, AND KEEPHIM IN GOOD HEALTH

PhiladelphiaThe Penn Publishing Company1917


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COPYHIGHT 1911 BY ThE PexN PUBLISHING COMPANY


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ContentsI. The Selection of a Hoese . . 7n. How TO Tell a Horse's Age . . 31

III. Sound and Unsound Horses . . 54IV. Stables and Appliances... 87V. Food 104VI. Stable Management . . . 114Vn. Feeding and Watering . . . 128VIII. The Care of the Feet . . . 140IX. Cost of Keeping a Horse . . 144X. Hints on Breaking and Drying . 150

XI. Common Ailments .... 170Index 181


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Illustrations

Fig. 1.ThePlate I.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Plate II.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.FigFig

Fig. 14.Fig. 15.Fig. 16.Fig. 17.Fig. 18.Fig. 19.Fig 20.Fig. 21.Fig. 22.Fig. 23.Fig. 24.Fig. 25.Fig. 26.Fig. 27.Fig. 28.

PageFrontispiece

13External Parts of the Horse2. Chest too wide3. Good chest4. Hocks turned in5. Good hocks6. Calf knee7. Over at Knee .8. Splint9. Ewe neck and straight shoulder

10 Curb11. Spavin12. Good hock13. Good neck and sloping shoulderLower jaw at two and a half yearsLower jaw at three and a half yearsLower jaw at four and a half yearsLower jaw at five yearsLower jaw at six years .Lower jaw at seven yearsLower jaw at eight yearsLower jaw at nine yearsLower jaw at ten years .Lower jaw at twelve years .Lower jaw at fifteen yearsLower jaw at twenty years .Diagram of the inner side of the off hockDiagram of the outer side of off fore legShowing horse bitted up ready to lead ; alsoshowing position of reins in long rein driv

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13131319191919191919193234363840424446485051536179

159


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THE HORSECHAPTER I

The Selection of a HorseTo most people the purchase of a horse is a

serious and important undertaking. Any nianwho is interested in horses is averse to acknowl-edging that he knows nothing about them, and inthis respect more than any other he has a greatpredilection for doing his own business, howeverincompetent he may be to do it. It is extraordi-nary how few people are really good judges ofthis animal, and how little practical knowledgemen may possess in spite of much experienceamong different varieties of horses. To become agood judge a knovvdedge of anatomy is essentialbut as a dissertation on anatomy is hardly withinthe scope of this handbook, we must confine our-selves to gi^^ng a brief description of the most de-sirable points of conformation for the various

r


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8 THE HOESEclasses of work, together with a few ^particulars ofthe commonest faults and unsoundnesses.A fact which is often overlooked in connectionwith the purchase of a horse is that an animalmay be admirably suited for one class of work

and quite unsuitable and incapable for another.Thus, many horses may be "rough" and uncom-fortable for riding, but will be excellent in everyway as roadsters ; and a horse which is capable ofpulling a great weight is obviously unsuited forfast galloping. Therefore the intendmg purchasermust first make up his mind exactly what class ofwork he wants his horse for, and he must thenendeavor to secure an animal with conformationsuch as will enable it to perform this work in thebest manner and with least exertion to itself. Atthe two extremes are the thoroughbred and thecart horse, the former bred for speed, the latterfor strength. Two greater differences couldhardly be unagined in one species of animal, forthe points necessary to the one are utterly con-demnatory in the other; and although perhapsthese differences are peculiar to the shell or ex-ternal parts of the animal, rather than to theinternal and vital parts, yet they are very ap-parent to the eye, and are the ones to which at-


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THE HORSE 9tention should be paid in the choice of ahorse.The class of animal most likely to be requiredby the average horse-owner is the harness horse,

so that in considering the various points we willkeep this ideal in view. In many respects theharness horse requires the combined points of asaddle-horse and a cart horse, and, leaving out ofthe question exaggerated examples, such as thatgalloping machine the race-horse, or that equinegiant the Percheron, we shall find that the bonyconformation of the one differs very little, exceptin a minor degree, from that of the others. Suchdifferences as exist are as a rule muscular, and aswe go along we shall endeavor to indicate thevarious classes of work for which each variety ofconformation is best suited.

HeadAlthough the head is very much less importantfrom a working point of view than many other

parts of the horse, yet as it is usually the firstpoint to catch the eye, and as it is the one partfrom which it is possible to penetrate the secretof a horse's disposition and character, it is givenpriority of consideration. The chief faults of the


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10 THE HORSEhead are that it may be too small or too large.The reader may perhaps be surprised when wesay that the head can be too small, as popularopinion is generally in favor of a small size ofthis part. Too small a head may indicate weakmasticating muscles, and hence the owner maysuffer from a bad digestion ; and it may mdicatesmall air-passages, and hence the breathing of thehorse may be unpaired. If, however, the small-headed horse possesses a broad, flat forehead andlarge open nostrils, he will not be likely to laborunder either of these disadvantages, and the smallhead will be an advantage rather that the reverse.A large head indicates cart-horse blood, and is un-desirable, because a horse is apt to carry it badly,and consequently put an undue proportion ofweight on the forehand. Apart from this, how-ever, provided the horse has plenty of bone, a bighead is not particularl}^ objectionable, and no horseneed be refused because he is a little " plain."A fairly common pecidiarity is a prominencebetween the eyes (convexity of frontals), which isvery objectionable, and generally indicates a badtemper. A small or sunken " pig " eye and a Availeye (a ring of white round the iris) are also indi-cations of a wayward temper and ungenerous dis-


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THE HORSE 11position. A wide, -flat forehead and bold eye aresigns of intelligence and good disposition. It mustbe mentioned, however, that the eye can be toobig, and a "scarey," nervous horse will oftenpossess a large, prominent eye. In this connectionthe ears will also be some guide, and a continuousbackward and forward movement, and an en-deavor to see behuid, etc., may confirm suspicionsthat the animal is nervous. Apart from theteeth, a sunken appearance of the face, midAvayon a line drawn from the inner corner of the eyeto the mouth, will indicate old age. The top ofthe head between the ears should be prominent,and the skin over the whole head in a well-bredhorse should be fine and thin, showing thi'oughit the various nerves, muscles, and blood-vessels.There should be no swellings or thickness be-tween the jaw-bones, nor should the hollows abovethe eyes be deep in a young horse.

JSTeckThe neck of a saddle-horse cannot be too long

or light, nor of a cart horse too comparativelythick. The harness horse should have somethingbetween the two. A weU-shaped neck, with nicelyset-on head, adds much to the appearance of a


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12 THE HORSEhorse (Plate II. Fig. 13), and the ammal wiU behandier and pleasanter to diive than one which isclumsily or a^Ykwardly made. As one of the mostimportant muscles which diâws the shoulder for-ward runs U23 the neck and is attached to the topof the head, length of neck and good carriage ofhead mean greater power of this muscle, and hencebetter action. A big crest is simply an accumula-tion of fat on the upper part of the neck, and ischiefly an indication of fatness and not of goodconformation. As it makes the hoiê heavier infront, i. e., puts more weight on the fore legs, it isan undeshâble featmê. The best class of neck fora harness horse in one of medium length, sHghtlyarched (Plate II. Fig. 1 3), and with weU-developedmuscles. A very short thick neck, which isusually accompanied by straight shoulders, is aform of conformation which, by reason of the un-due amount of weight it thiôws forward, makes ahorse extremely likely to overbalance and falldown. A horse with a " ewe " neck is often alsoa " star gazer " (Plate 11. Fig. 9), and extremelyunpleasant either to ride or drive, as not only ishe liable to get the bit off the bars and into thecorners of his mouth, but his carriage of headprevents him from seeing where he is stepping.


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THE HORSE IBAs this last is not of so much consequence in aharness horse as it is in a hunter, the fault is notsuch a grave one in the class of animal under con-sideration.

Shoulders and WithersWhatever his work, every horse should have

Plate I.

Fig. 2.Chest too wide

Fig. 4.Hocks turned in.

well-sloped shoulders. Among the advantages tothe animal derived from this conformation aregreater lightness of forehand, and consequentlygreater chance of recovery after a stumble ; less" jar " to the fore legs, which have to support thewhole weight of the fore part of the body ; and


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14 THE HORSEgreater freedom of movement of the shoulders andfore legs. The shoulders should be thin and freefrom lumber in the saddle-horse, and exactly theopposite in the cart horse, which requires to throwa lot of weight into the collar. The two best in-dications of the amount of muscle carried by theshoulders arethe dift'erence in level between theroot of the neck and the shoulder, and the widthbetween the fore legs (Plate I. Figs. 2 and 3). Inthe hunter or racer the neck should run into theshoulder with an almost imperceptible curve ; in acart horse the greater development of the muscleson the shoulder-blade make a very perceptible dif-ference in the levels of the two parts, and theanimal has consequently a marked " collar place."In the harness animal is required the happymedium, as the absence of a depression whereinthe collar can lie is as objectionable as is a con-formation too nearly approaching that of the heavyhorse. The fore legs should be moderately wideapart (Plate I. Fig. 3) ; but when viewed from thefront there should be no unnecessary muscle eitheron the outside of the shoulder or between the legs.The chest should be deep (Plate I. Fig. 3), notwide and shallow as it so often is in the frontview (Plate I. Fig. 2).


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THE HORSE 15The withers should be high, but their leanness is

not so important in the harness as in the saddle-horse. They should extend far back in the direc-tion of the tail, as this will give what riders call a" long rein." It is noticeable that hackneys, whichwe may regard as an essentially exaggerated typeof fancy harness horse, have as a rule thick necks,somewhat loaded, but long, v\'ell laid back shoulders,and not over high withers, so presumably this con-formation is necessary to, or comes as a sequenceto, exaggerated action and considerable speed atthe trot. The objection to loaded shoulders isminimized if they are long and sloping, and theserious drawback of straight shoulders is to someextent compensated for if the horse has a lighthead and neck and sloping pasterns.

BodyEvery variety of horse should be fairly short in

back. That is to say, the distance from theposterior termination of the withers to the promi-nence at the anterior part of the croup (the innerangle of the pelvis) should be short if the horse isto have the greatest power of propelling his bodyforward, and is to be therefore speedy. The loinsshould be flat and broad, so as to give room for the


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16 THE HORSEattachment of muscles and to ensure plenty ofspace for the important organs which lie beneaththem. All classes of horses should be "wellribbed up," by which term length and a backwarddirection of the back ribs is understood. Short-ness of the back ribs is a worse fault in a saddlethan in a harness horse, but it is very undeshablein any animal, as it indicates inability to " sta}''."In horses in hard condition a badly ribbed-up con-formation will be evidenced by the " tucked up "appearance of the individual. The straighter andmore parallel the lower line of the body is with thegi^ound, the greater will be the ability of the horseto stand prolonged exertion, and a buyer shouldalways look for a good depth of body at a linedropped vertically fi^om the lowest part of theback (behind the withers) to behind the girth place.A good spring of ribs is essential to all horses, al-though flatness may be sometimes compensated forin a harness horse by extra depth.

Htkd QuaetersThe most successful race-horses have usually

been somewhat narrow behind ; but this point isnot desirable in any other variety of horse. Ob-viously a horse which has to hold back a vehicle,


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THE HORSE 17or to jump, must have powerful muscles to enablehim to do his work efficiently, and one should al-ways look for plenty of muscular development onthe croup and down the quarters. Breadth be-tween the points of the hip bones is also desirable(Plate I. Fig. 5). It must always be rememberedin this connection, however, that the hind quartersmust be in proportion to the fore parts, and that ahorse should not be unduly developed in one part.Droopmg hind quarters are unobjectionable thoughunsightly, in fact, this conformation is valued inIrish hunters. On the score of appearance, nodoubt, a tail set on high and carried in a gracefulcurve well away from the body is to be preferred,although this shape has no mechanical advantage.

Fore ai^d Hii^d LegsOne of the most important parts of equine con-

formation is the shape of the legs. Withoutgood legs a horse will be quite unable to standwork, and, next to the feet, more attention shouldbe paid to their shape and make than to any otherpart of the animal. The fore legs have chiefly tosupport weight ; the hind legs to propel the body.jN'aturally, then, one must look for powerfulmuscles and tendons and big bones to vrhich they


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18 THE HORSEare attached. Successful modern thoroughbredsare usually leggy ; that is to say, their height atthe withers is greater than theu' length from thepoint of the shoulder to the buttock, and thisheight has been proved to be usually gained bylength of leg. The cart horse, on the contrary,has short legs, consequently his length is greaterthan liis height. As it is not a gallopingmachine that is wanted, but merely a well-balanced harness horse, the full-grown animalshould be slightly longer than he is high at thewithers, as such conformation indicates a sufficiencyof strength for harness work. At the same time,the greater length over height must be due toshortness of the legs, and not to either abnormallylow withers or to a long, badly coupled body. Theshortness of the legs should be gained by shortnessof the bones below the knees and hocks, and notby shortness of the foreanns and lower thighs orgaskins, on which the muscles which move thelegs are to be found. The gaskins should be aswide and long as possible, and covered with plentyof muscle, and are important parts to look at mbuying a horse. The knees should be large, flat,and bony; also the hocks. The latter must bewell let down (Plate II. Fig. 12), and when viewed


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THE HORSEPlate II.

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Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8.Calf Knee. Over at Knee. Splint.

Fig. 9.Ewe Neck and StraightShoulder.

Fig. 10.Curb.

Fig. 11.Spavin.

Fig. 12.(5ood Hock.

Fig. 13.Good Neck and SlopingShoulder.


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20 THE HORSEfrom behind should be straight (Plate I. Fig. 5),and turn neither in nor out when the animal iswalking. "Covr" hocks (hocks in which thepoints turn inPlate I. Fig. 4) are very commonin hill ponies and horses with pony blood ; butbeyond being unsightly they are not a serious fault,and are infinitely to be preferred to the oppositefault of hocks turned too much out. Horses whichturn their hocks out give a peculiar " ^vi^ench " tothe hind leg when walking. The line from theback of the leg from hock to pastern should bestraight, and the front of the hock, when viewedfrom the side, should run almost imperceptiblydown, if the hock is well let down and the bonebelow it large.The same may be said of the leg below the

knee. The straighter the line of the back of theleg (the absence of a " tied-in " condition belowthe knee), the better the leg may be considered.The leg should have great width when viewedfrom the side, and the tendons should be plainlyvisible beneath the skin in a well-bred animal.Horses sometimes stand over at the knees (PlateII. Fig. 7), and when not tem^porarily due tooverwork, this formation is an indication of in-sufficient development of the large muscle on the


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THE HOESE 21upper part of the forearm. It is objectionable ina saddle-horse, but of less consequence in harness.If combined with straight shoulders and withheavy forehand (shoulders, chest, neck, and head)and a tied-in condition below the knee, it is dan-gerous in any class of horse, as the animal willalways be falling down. Horses with straightshoulders and heavy fore part are " built to falldown," and should be avoided for any class ofwork. Horses with "calf knees" (Plate 11.Fig. 6) are very lial^le to strain a back tendonwhen putting extra weight on the fore legs, as injumping, cantering, etc.Long sloping pasterns, like long sloping shoul-

ders, are important factors in the prevention ofjars, and hence unsoundness. Sloping pasterns areusually an indication of speed. The discomfort tothe rider of a horse with bad shoulders is mini-mized by long pasterns, so that it is a point whichshould never be dispensed with in a saddle-horse.As the harness horse has to do all his work onhard roads, and consequently is subjected to con-siderable shaking if the " springs " (shoulders andpasterns) are not so formed as to reduce it, longsloping pasterns should be looked for in this classalso. The amount of jar caused by a horse v:ith


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22 THE HORSEstraight shoulders and pasterns may be verified byany one who cares to ride successively horses withboth parts long and sloping, with both parts shortand straight, with straight shoulders and longsloping pasterns, and with long shaping shouldersand short, straight pasterns. Of the last threeforms the verdict will be in favor of the longpasterns and straight shoulders as the least un-comfortable, and as the jar is to them so it mustbe to the horse, and it is impossible to lay toomuch stress on the importance of good pasternsin harness as well as saddle-horses. The hindpasterns are ahvays more upright than the forebut a condition of knuckling over is due to ex-cessive work or to working a colt too young. Inthe former case it points to wealaiess of tendons."When viewed from the front, the pasterns shouldbe straight, i. e., the feet should turn neither innor out. Cart horses very constantly turn theirfeet in, and apparently this formation, which ismost obvious when going up-hill, has some ad-vantage when moving a great weight. Short,straight pasterns are of mechanical advantage toa cart horse, and as these animals have not totravel fast there is no objection to this formationif the shoulders are long and sloj)ing.


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THE HORSE 23TThen looking at a horse, it is advisable to note

whether he has plenty of " bone," i. e., that hislegs are not too small for his body, or, in anotherway of putting it, that he is not heavy-topped. Ahorse can hai-dly have too great a width of leg,provided it feels clean and firm to the touch.Many horses shown in excessively fat conditionmay appear heavy-topped, particularly stalhonsbut the pm^chaser must not allow himself to bedeceived by fat, and must judge of the actual sizeof the body by the proportion between the size ofthe head, the shape of the chest, the width of thequarters, etc., and the legs. It may be added thatit is almost impossible to fairly judge a very fathorse in some points, such as back ribs, as the ac-cumulation of fat may completely hide the trueshape.

Feet"Without good feet a horse is useless for anypurpose. (See Chapter YIII.) Chestnut horses are

reputed to have worse feet than horses of any othercolor ; and it is notorious that the big cart horseserr in this respect to a terrible extent. The outerwall of the hoof should be hard and firm and freefrom ridges, and should not be unduly spread.


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24 THE HOKSEWhen lifted up, the buyer should note whetherthe frog of the foot is well developed and freefrom offensive odor. A deep cleft in the frog,and an unpleasant, characteristic smell indicatethrtish, and although it is rare to come across ahorse entirely free from it, yet if badly developed,and the frog shiiveled in appearance, the horseshould be rejected. In a perfectly healthy footthe cleft of the frog is only a slight depression,and not the deep split so constantly seen. Con-tracted feet are less objectionable than wide-spreadfeet, as the former may be improved by care andattention, whereas nothing much can be done tothe latter to make them permanently sound, anda horse with such feet, if put to fast road work,will be likely to develop fever in the feet, or somesuch complaint.

AcTioisrConformation makes the action. For road work,

exaggerated knee and hock action is out of thequestion, and undesirable in every respect. Atthe same time, it is highly desirable that a horseshould throw both fore and hind legs well forward.A long stride is obtained by good shoulder action,but it is of little advantage if the horse drags his


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THE HORSE 25hind legs. At the walk and trot the marks ofthe hmd feet should certainly cover, and perhapsoverreach, the marks of the fore feet, and themore they do so, provided the animal also thi'owsout his fore legs well from the shoulder, the morerapidly wdll he cover the ground with a minimumof exertion. As long as the feet are lifted highenough to clear the ground there is no advantagein knee action, and the exaggerated up-and-downknee action of some hackneys is objectionable inevery way. Such horses have no pace, and theyquickly hammer their legs to pieces on the road.In the ideal action of the roadster the fore andhind legs are flung well forward, the former beingstraightened before touching the ground, and thewhole movement suggests to the eye freedomwithout effort.When viewed from behind, the legs of each sideshould follow exactly the same course. This con-dition will not be attained if a horse " dishes," orgoes wide behind or in front, or crosses his legs.Dishing, or the flinging outward of either or bothfore feet, is very common, and although, of course,a fault, yet it is less objectionable than some if nottoo marked. No horse which goes wide in frontis speedy, and it will generally be found that of


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26 THE HORSEthe two conformations, going too wide, or goingtoo close or brushing, the animal which does thelatter is the fastest. Some very fast horses gowide behind, but the peculiarity is unsightly.One of the best tests of soundness, action, and

conformation is to have the horse trotted down afauiy steep hill. By his manner of going a fau'estimate of his value can at once be made.

Geneeal AppeaeaxceA horse may have every desu^able point of con-formation and yet be an extremely ugly animal."When looking at horses, the pm'chaser should en-deavor to find one w^hich has no bad points, and ifhe can find it he may buy it knowing that it willbe useful, and likely to last him for years, how-ever ugh^ it may be. Of course, good looks inaddition are desu^able, but they have to be paidfor at a rate far in excess of theii' practicalvalue. Therefore the average individual will befortunate if he is strong enough not to succumbto the temptation of buying an animal with somegood or taking points in exaggerated degree, andalso some bad ones, and confines his attention tosearching for a horse which Is absolutely freefrom any which the most critical judge could des-


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THE HORSE 27ignate " bad." Every bad point is a weakness, itmust be remembered, and, as such, liable at any-time to cause the breakdo\vn of the entu'e animal.

Age foe WorkA horse is probably at his very best at six yearsof age. It is never wise to purchase one of lessthan fom* for moderate work, or under five forhard work. Horses which are "out of mark,"i. e.^ over eight years of age, if well formed andsound, are often likely to be more useful for hardwork than younger ones. At this age, if theypossess weaknesses they will, under ordinary con-ditions, have already broken do^vn, so that it maybe taken as a broad rule that a sound old horse isgenerally a good horse, and for light harness work,or work which is not too fast, there is no reasonwhy an animal should not last until it is well intothe twenties.

Blemishes and Uis-soui^dnessThe vendor of a broken-lmeed horse always has

a plausible tale of the exact manner in which theaccident occurred, and it always is an accident,and never due to any fault on the part of thehorse. In nine cases out of ten, however, the


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28 THE HOKSEcause is due to faulty conformation, and, undersuch circumstances, it is a certainty that the horsewill fall again sooner or later, however carefullydriven. Horses which are straight shoulderedand heavy in front, as already remarked, shouldbe looked at with suspicion, and if, in addition tothis, they already have telltale marks, they shouldbe carefully avoided. When a horse is well made,and has a light head and neck, the cause of thebroken knees must be looked for elsewhere, andone should either suspect thi'ush, or that the horsehad fallen from some kind of sunstroke, in bothof which cases the accident is unlikely to re-occurif reasonable care is taken to avoid the unfavor-able conditions. Many scars about the hocks in-dicate that the animal is a kicker.There are several conditions which, although

they come under the technical head of unsound-ness, yet may not interfere with the working ca-pacity of the animal. In the case of splints (Plate11. Fig. 3), for instance, the cause and position arethe important factors to consider before rejectingan animal which has one. If, as is often the case,they are caused by the horse having been workedtoo young, and while the bones and ligaments areunlit, they will be less liable to incapacitate the


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THE HORSE 29animal than if they were formed in adult life be-cause of defective conformation. When fullyformed they do not, as a rule, in themselves causelameness. But if placed in such a position thatthey are hkely to be hit by the other leg, or arelikely to interfere ^vith the passage of the tendonsand ligaments, they may become a serious evil.Therefore, if a horse has a splint high up near theknee where it may be struck by the other leg, orfar back where it may interfere Avith tendons andligaments, or on both sides of the leg, whichv\^ould indicate great weakness of the structures,it should be rejected.The same may be said of curbs (Plate II.

Fig. 10) and spavins (Plate II. Fig. 11). Of course,a horse with such is unsound ; but if it is notlame, and its action is in no way interfered mthby the defects, it may be good for many years'w^ork, although its value as a saleable animal ismuch reduced by their presence.Few horses are without a few wind-galls ; but

they constitute unsoundness only if they causelameness.

Cutting, clicldng, and overreaching do notcome under this category, although " contractionof the hoof " should be considered an unsoundness


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30 THE HOESEas are also grease, saddle-galls, and shivering, sothat it is within the power of the sharp buyer toget a considerable reduction in the price of ananimal with one of these complaints, on the scorethat it is not wholly sound.

It must always be remembered that curbs maybe sprung in a moment, splints developed in afew hours, spavin thi^own out in a day or two,and other defects, such as roaring, rapidly de-veloped, so that it is possible to buy an apparentlysound horse one day, and find that, through nodishonesty on the part of the vendor, he is un-sound a day or two later.


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CHAPTER IIHow to Tell a Horse^s Age

The age of a horse is to be accurately de-termined only by an examination of the teeth,with a knowledge of the changes, w^iich, fromtime to time, take place in them. The followingdirections, studied in connection with the accom-panying diagrams of the lower jaw, will enable anyone of ordinary acuteness and powers of observa-tion to judge for himself, and thus to avoid thatmost common of all the dealer's impositions, aliability to be deceived in the age of horses heldfor sale.The incisors furnish the chief indications ; and

to them the attention must be mostly directedbut the back and hook teeth should be observedto some extent, as their condition may occasion-ally serve to correct and more frequently to cor-roborate the indication of the incisors.When first foaled, the colt has no incisors.31


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32 THE HORSE

Fig. 14.Lower jaw at two and a half years.


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THE HORSE 33Twelve back teeth have in most cases forced theirpoints by this time through the gums ; but it isnot until from two or three months afterward thatthe four nippers appear ; in six weeks the nippersare seen; and in about eight months the fourcorner teeth. There are now, at eight or ninemonths old, twenty-four teeth (upper and lower),called foal-teeth. These are all changed by thefifth or sixth year, and those that follow arecalled horse-teeth.The back teeth appear as follows: the three

front double pair are seen at birth, and are after-ward changed ; the fourth double pair appearfrom the eighth to the ninth month (this fourthdouble pair are the first that remain stationary,and they are found in every year-old colt) ; thefifth double pair, or fifth four, appear in thesecond or third year; the sixth usually in thefourth or early in the fifth year. These threedouble pairs of back teeth (last named) remainunchanged, as do also the four hook teeth.The hook teeth are uncertain as to appearance,

coming sometimes at the end of the third year,sometimes in the middle or at the end of thefourth, sometimes in the middle or at the end ofthe fifth, sometimes at the beginning of the sixth.


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34 THE HOBSE

Fig. 15.Lower jaw at three and a half years.


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THE HOESE 36Observe particularly that the incisors of the

foal differ from those of the horse (1) by theirregular, conical formation ; (2) by a narrow con-traction called the neck, visible almost in thecentre of the body of each tooth, while nothingof the kind is seen in horse-teeth ; (3) by theirsmaller size, even when full grown. The milkteeth (or those teeth which are cast or shed),taken from the jaws of dead foals and comparedwith horse-teeth similarly obtained, are found tobe only about half as long as the latter. Thebreadth is not to be depended on, since the milkteeth of larger foals appear ahnost as broad asthose of small horses. When the nippers becomehorse-teeth, they form a great contrast to themiddle and corner teeth. The size of these lastwill at once show them to be milk teeth. (4) Bythe fact that the outer surface of the foal-teeth issmooth and striped with brown, while on horse-teeth the same surface is divided by a dirty yel-low indentation inclining toward the centre, whichis sometimes double upon the upper teeth.One should study the form of the incisors by

carefully examining those taken from dead horsesof different ages. Each incisor will be found toconsist of a hard, enameled part, called the grinder,


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86 THE HORSE

Fig. 16.Lower jaw at four and a half years.


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THE HORSE 37which has protruded above the gum ; of a bonysubstance, which has been for the most part hid-den in the gum ; and of a root, which has occupiedthe cavity of the jaw-bone.

These teeth (of the foal as well as of the horse)are slowly bat continually worn away by bitingand chewing, so that the length is constantly de-creasing,sometimes evenly and regularly,sothat in old age the tooth that was once two and ahalf inches long is found to be not exceeding halfan inch in length. The breadth generally de-creases in about the same proportion ; but withthis diiference in foal and horse-teeth, that thethickness and breadth of the foal-teeth are con-stantly decreasing from the grinder or hard enam-eled part to the end of the root, while horse-teethdecrease from the root upward. The grinder, orhard, grating portion of the tooth, which has notyet been used, has somewhat the form of an egg ;it is ttiree times as broad as thick, and hollowedout in the shape of a funnel, which hollow has twosharp edges inclosing it. This socket or hollow iscalled the 7na7'k. In the centre of this mark, asort of kernel may be seena tube commencing atthe end of the rootthat contains the nerves ofthe tooth ; but this inner hole must always be dis-


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38 THE HORSE

Fig. 17.Lower jaw at five years.


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THE HORSE 39tinguished from the mark, which is the outer de-pression, lying next to the sharp edges. The innercavity is a funnel-shaped socket, of hard, enamelshell, around which, and inside the outward shell,is a thick fluid, which remains during the life ofthe tooth, becoming, by degrees, gray matter.This fluid averages about four lines in depth in thelower incisors and about eight in the upper ones.The outer edge of each incisor always rises a

line or two above the inner edge ; therefore, whenthe upper and lower are fii'st grated together, onlythe outer edges touch for some time ; and the in-ner edges do not touch until the outer ones areworn down to an equal height with them. Horse-teeth generally do this in about one year. At theage of two and a half, the teeth begin to change,and those which then appear are called horse-teeth.A full-grown stallion or gelding has forty, anda mare thirty-six teeththe male having fourhook-teeth which are lacking in the female, exceptthat sometimes she has imperfect teeth in the cor-responding part of the mouth. Those teeth foundin some young horses, next to the first doubleteeth, and called " wolf teeth," are not included inthis number, as they are not real teeth,frequently


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40 THE HORSE

Fig. 18.Lower jaw at six years.


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THE HORSE 4:1not breaking thi'ough the gums at all, and usually,in any case, disappearing in eight or nine years.Twenty-four of the true teeth, in both horses andmares, are situated in the upper part of the mouth(that is, in both jaws, ahove the lijps). They aredivided into six double pairs, counting upwardfrom below, so that those situated next to the in-cisors in all the four rows are first ; those next tothem, second ; and so on to the last pair, whichare called the back teeth.Twelve others are in the lower part of the

mouth, surrounded by the lips, six in the upperand six in the lower jaw, standing, each lot, in theform of an arch, and occupying the entrance tothe hollow of the mouth. These twelve are calledincisors. The four innermost, two in each jawthese forming the key of each archare callednippers ; the other two in each arch are called thecorner teeth, and those between the nippers andthe corner teeth are called middle teeth. Each ofthese teeth in the lower jaw rubs against the cor-responding one in the upper jaw. The teeth ofthe upper jaw are broader and thicker than thoseof the lower. The four hooks are seated alone,over each corner tooth, but nearer to the cornerteeth of the upper than those of tiie lower, so that


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42 THE HOESE

Fig. 19.Lower jaw at seven years.


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THE HORSE 43they (the hooks) never come in contact with eachother.The horse has always attained the age of fourand a half or five years before he has a full num-

ber of perfect teeth. Before this time, the youngerthe animal the fewer the teeth, and even these arenot all permanent.The more a permanent incisor loses in length,

by friction, the more it also loses in width, sothat the nearer the friction surface approaches tothe root, the narrower and thicker it must appear.Every new hook tooth is cylindrical and some-

what hooked, with a cone-shaped projectinggrinder, and this is surrounded by a spoon-shapededge, turned toward the hollow of the mouth, sothat the cone cannot be seen from the outsideand the whole grinder, or hard, enameled part,has the appearance of the back part of the bowl ofa spoonthe edge, like a screen, surrounding theshort cone, but so that two deep furrows remainbetween. Except this grinder, the rest of thebody is uniformly round and the surface almosteven. As previously said, however, these bythemselves afford no reliable indication as to age.

Large horses have, of course, larger teeth thansmall ones ; but taking a horse of medium size as


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u THE HORSE

Fig. 20.Lower jaw at eight yeais.


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THE HORSE 46a* standard, one can make allowances for eitherlarger or smaller, and easily arrive at just con-clusions.The incisors being our main reliance, our re-marks must be understood to refer chiefly to them.The length of the tooth of a horse of medium sizeis three inches, or thirty-six lines. After thechanged tooth has arrived at its proper length, itshoots up a line regularly every year, and if theteeth stand right, the grinder is worn off a lineevery year. It is also, as has been said, worn offin both width and breadth, so that the grinder be-comes, from year to year, shorter and smaller, asshown by the chart.

If, however, the teeth stand too far forward(irregular teeth) they do not wear down in thesame proportion as they shoot upward, and theybecome very long. The age in this case can beascertained with ease and exactness by observingwith care the following points : At the age of fiveyears, the corner teeth of the lower jaw havegrown up ^ve lines above the gum ; each middletooth, seven lines ; and each upper, nine. Ateight years, and older, each corner tooth of thesame horse projects only four, the middle, six, andthe nippers, eight lines above the gums. This is


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46 THE HORSE

Fia. Sl.Lower jaw at nine years.


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THE HOUSE 47absolutely necessary to be taken into account, be-cause it is the only means by which one can de-cide with certainty as to the age of a horse whoseteeth have become longer than they would havebeen if set right and wearing regularly.The foregoing remarks and du^ections are based

upon the assumption that there is no peculiarityabout the individual animal or the breed to Avhichhe belongs that would materially interfere withthe principles laid down. It remains, however,to notice that to those breeds of horses which de-velop very slowly, of which the Spanish horse maybe cited as an example, the rules are a little moredifficult of application. The bones of these, andperhaps of some few other kinds, seem to be harder,and the teeth change somewhat later and appearto wear down more slowly ; so that it sometimeshappens that such horses, after their fifth yearappear a year or two younger than they reallyare ; but the same animals are apt to be more thanordinarily strong, hardy, and long-lived, and to betaken at a diminished age really detracts nothingfrom their worth.The age of a mule is somewJiat difficult to deter-

mine with exactness, owing to the cause just stated.Deceptions may be practiced with very thrifty


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48 THE HORSE

Fig. 22.Lower jaw at ten years.


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THE HOESE 49young horses, when it is desirable to make themappear of suitable age for work or for breeding,by knocking out the incisors a year sooner thanthey would naturally change themselves. If apurchaser suspects deception, he can determine thematter by closely examining the remaining teeth.If the nippers have changed, and the inner edgesof the corner teeth have not yet come into con-tact, the foal is but one year oldand so on.The opposite cheatthat of trying to make ahorse appear younger than he really is by burningartificial marks in upon the teethcan be detectedby closely examining the enamel and the effect ofthe mark upon it. When a horse has reached anadvanced age, say twelve to twenty, the enameledsurface has become so minute that burning in aslarge a mark as is found in horses considerablyyounger would disturb the whole enamel and soleave a means of detecting the fraud.

In the case of crib-biters, that wear out theirteeth prematurely, and so appear really older thanthey are, examination must be directed to thecorner teeth, which are seldom injured ; or, if thecorner teeth prove to be injured, deduct from theapparent age as many lines as are wanting to makethe teeth of the natural length. To feed con-


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50 THE HORSE

-^Fig. 23.Lower jaw at twelve years.


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THE HORSE 51

Fia. 24.Lower jaw at fifteen years.


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52 THE HORSEstantly, from weaning time, upon hard, mishelledcorn, sometimes produces the same effect as crib-biting, and the same du^ections must be followedin forming an estimate.


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THE HOKSE 53

Fig. 26.Lower jaw at twenty years.


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CHAPTER IIISound and Unsound Horses

So much importance is attached to what istechnicallj called soundness in a horse, and thevalue of an animal is so remarkably depreciatedif it fails to come up to the somewhat highstandard expected by the average buyer, that achapter devoted to the subject may not be out ofplace.

First of all, unsoundness is usually defined asthe disease or alteration of structure, which ren-ders, or will render, a horse less capable of per-forming the work required of it. This definitionis not very satisfactory, however, because, as weshall show, many horses are technically unsound,yet are perfectly capable of doing all the workrequired of them for a great number of years. Itis possible that too much stress is sometimes laidupon soundness. For instance, a case may becited in which the buyers of a cob insisted uponabsolute soundness, and rejected a number ofuseful, mature animals, each of which was tech-

54:


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THE HORSE 56nically unsound in some respect ; yet theyeventually bought a pony which was passed asabsolutely sound in Avind, limb, and eye, but whichgave them endless trouble and expense owing toa weak and disordered digestion.Owing to the iron shoes, the hard roads, the

rapid and continuous trotting, and the heavy loadswhich have to be moved, inflammation is constantlyset up in the bones, tendons, or ligaments of thelegs. When one considers the unnatural con-ditions under which horses labor, the wonder is,perhaps, that any ever reach maturity withoutsome abnormal condition as the result of " work."It is those points of conformation which centuriesof experience have proved to man to be best ableto stand work, which are the ones sought for byhorse-owners, and a Avell-shaped hock, say, isliterally one which is put together in such a wayas to be able to stand unaltered the malign in-fluences of violent concussions and sudden strains.A cuiious corroboration of the beneficial resultof the continual selection of horses with certainpoints for w^ork has of recent years come to light.In South Africa an endeavor has been made toutilize zebras for harness purposes, but the seriousattempt had soon to be abandoned, as they were


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56 THE HORSEfound to be much too " soft." Zebra hybrids, ofwhich at one time such great things were ex-pected, have also proved to be unfitted for veryhard work, and there can be no doubt that thewild horses, originally domesticated by om' re-mote ancestors, were as little adapted for hardlabor as their wild relatives are at the presentday. A comparison of the hocks of the wild andtame Equidse will reveal the differences broughtabout by artificial selection.

Yeteeinary ExaminationIf the prospective buyer has submitted a horse

to a veterinary examination and it is passed assound, he usually considers that he has done allthat is necessary, and is bound to have a goodanimal. It must be pointed out, however, that acertificate of soundness is far from representing ananimal's true worth. Presuming that the veteri-nary surgeon is well up in his duties, and is also agood judge of a horsetwo qualifications notalways obtainable in every country practitionerit is yet only his duty to say whether or not ahorse is sound at the time it comes under hisnotice. This is what he is paid to do, and aveterinary surgeon would be exceeding his duties,


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THE HOESE 57and also the professional etiquette of his attitudetoward the seller, if he was to volunteer anopinion as to the quahty of the horse or its suit-ability for any special purpose. Therefore abuyer can, and must, only legitimately expect tobe informed whether a horse is technically sound,and herein, no doubt, lies the pitfall into which agreat number of people, who know very littleabout horses, stumble.The usual form of veterinary certificate sets

out a description of the animal, and possiblymentions either that, owing to some specifieddefect, the animal is, in the opinion of the writer,unsound, or else that it has certain minor defects,such as a splint, cracked heels, etc., but is other-wise, in the opinion of the writer, sound.A horse may have minor defects such as theabove-mentioned, yet if he is not lame, and thedefect does not seem to detract from his naturalmovement, he is, at the moment, sound. It is notthe veterinary surgeon's duty, even if he couldtell (which is unlikely, unless he has had anintimate previous acquaintance with the horse),to say whether the temporary defect is likely toget worse and incapacitate it from work a fewdays or weeks later. Thus the value of the


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58 THE HOESEexamination is, comparatively speaking, nil^ un-less the would-be buyer is sufficiently up inveterinary matters to be able to put an exactvalue on the information gained, in which casehe would probably not require the services of aveterinary surgeon at all.

Then, again, a horse may be passed as absolutelysound, and may be so at the time, yet he may havehocks so badly shaped that it is obvious to theinitiated that he will be likely to spring a curb ifhunted, or even if put to certain sorts of cartingwork. Or he may have the combination of aheavy body, and hoofs which almost certainlysuggest laminitis ; he may even have only recentlycome up from a long run at grass, necessitated bythis or some other disease, yet the veterinary sur-geon can only say that the horse, as brought be-fore him, is sound. It is not his duty to take apessimistic view, to point out weak points of con-formation, or to prognosticate possible disaster inthe future. Thus we reiterate that the value ofa veterinary certificate of soundness is small com-pared to the value of certain points of conforma-tion in the horse, and that to have the animalpassed as sound does not exempt the buyer fromthe necessity of exercising or obtaining skilled ad-


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THE HORSE 59vice on the general make and shape and suitabilityof the animal to perform a certain class of workwithout breaking down.Again, if the horse is passed as unsound becauseof certain specified defects, the buyer who dependssolely upon the certificate must perforce reject it,and may at the same time lose the very animalwhich would have suited him. As stated earlierin this book, a horse with a technical unsoundnessis not necessarily unfit for moderate, and even hardwork, and it is only by a knowledge of the causeand character of the complaint that a fair estimatecan be made of the animal's value. A certificatesetting forth that the horse is unsound is, of course,of inestimable value to the knowing man who isnot afraid, under certain conditions, to buy at areduced price. His knowledge may tell him thatthe horse is equal to performing all his work quiteas well as a more expensive and technically soundone. We intend to deal more explicitly with thevarious common unsoundnesses, and to show thevalues which must be placed upon them withreference to the different classes of work: it ishoped that to start with we have made clear tothe uninitiated that a sound horse is not neces-sarily either a good or useful one, and have drawn.


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60 THE HORSEattention to the fact that a certificate of soundnessdoes not invariably qualify a horse as a desirableacquisition for the stable.Sometimes a horse is too sound for its age. Bythis somewhat paradoxical statement we mean toimply that an animal of, say, seven or eight yearsold, which shows no work, is an object of suspicion.Few^ horses can do a fair three or four years' workwithout showing wind-galls, if nothing worse, andan enth^e absence of these concussion-indicatorssuggests that the horse has been kept in cotton-wool, and has for some reason or other neverearned his keep. As people do not usually keephorses to look at, the inference is obvious. Theonly exception to this rule is in the case of mareswhich are known to have been kept for breeding.For a reason which does not affect their workingcapacity, they may have had to be drafted out ofthe stud, and they may then be as fresh on theirlegs as colts when they come into the worker'shands at a mature age.

CUEB(See Fig. 26.) Curb is a swelling at the back of,

and a few inches below, the point of the hock.It can only be seen when the observer is standing


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THE HORSE 61a short distance oif, to one side of the horse, andsquare with the suspected leg. As the accom-panying diagram will show, the horse's hock iscomposed of a number of bones (usually six), anda broad ligament, not shown in the diagram, fills

Fig. 26.--Diagram of the Inner Sideof the Oflf Hook.

1, astragalus ; 2, os calcis ; 3, large cuneiform ;4, median cuneiform ; 5, small cuneiform ; 6, splintbone ; 7, cannon bone ; 8, tibia ; 9, position of bonespavin; 10, seat of bog spavin ; 11, seat of thorough-pin ; 12, capped hocli ; 13. seat of curb ; 14, perfo-ratus tendon ; 15, space filled by ligament, injuryto which causes curb.


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62 THE HORSEthe space from the point of the hock between thebones and the perforatus tendon. This ligamentis bound by fibres to the edges of the small bones,and acts, in conjunction with other parts, as alever to aid in propelHng the horse forward. Kow,in certain cases the fibrous ligament may be tornaway from its attachments, or otherwise undulystrained or stretched, with the result that thesubsequent disorganization will lead to a swellingwhich will be broadly called a curb.A simple sprain or twist of the ligament maygive rise to a curb, but om^ best modern authori-ties are more of opinion that the most frequentaccident is an actual tearing away of the fibresfrom some of their attachments. The consequentinflammation leads to an abnormal thickening andpartial ossification at the seat of the injury ; henceat the point where the ligaments are torn awayfrom their contact with the bones, a lump willform which will, by pushing out the adjacentstructures, cause a curb of greater or lesser di-mensions, according to the extent of the injury.Thus a curb may be briefly defined as a thickeningor other abnormal condition of the ligament dueto its injury. As a rule, the tearing away is in-sufiicient to cause an actual displacement of the


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THE HORSE 63small bones themselves ; but in cases of seriousinjury, the cuboid bone may actually get out of itsnormal position, may press the ligamentous braceoutwards, and in this way cause a bad curb.Again, the seat of injury may be the head of thespUnt bone, or the cannon bone, in which case en-largements i^not technically called curbs) will ap-pear in corresponding positions.

It is obvious that to cause a serious injury tostructure such as have been described a horsemust either have been put to an unduly severestrain, or, if this is out of the question, must havehocks of a shape and constitution which predis-pose him to throw out a curb with very little prov-ocation.We have abeady mentioned that it is necessaryto stand square to a horse's hind leg to judgeTvhether it has a curb. On no point, perhaps, inequine conformation does so great a diversity ofopinion exist as to the presence or absence of thisunsoundness. Some horses have what are called" curby " hocks, that is, hocks which are not welllet down, and which have very prominent headsto the splint bones. From any other point ofview but the orthodox one, they are often mis-taken for curbs, owing to their " lumpy " appear-


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64: THE HORSEance. The feel with the hand should decide thematter, because, if the appearance be due topeculiar conformation, and not to a pathologicalcondition, the course of the back tendons will bestraight. A horse does not very often have curbson both legs, so that great suspicion should bearoused if one hock differs in appearance fromthe other. If there are, indeed, curbs on bothlegs, the animal should be unhesitatingly rejectedas quite unfit for any but the lightest work.Having decided that a horse has a curb, the

next point is to endeavor to find out its exactnatm^e, and when and how it was acquired. Ob-viously, if the curb is of recent origin there will beinflammation, and the horse will be more or lesslame from the pain, and inclined to rest the leg.In this state a horse should never be bought withthe expectation that he will be shortly fit to workagain. The active mischief will take weeks torepair, and the horse will afterward need at leasta six weeks' run at grass, with blistering and per-haps firing.A moribund curb, however, is quite anothermatter, and a horse with the disfigurement may,under certain conditions to be named hereafter, bealmost as good as ever he was, and quite worth


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THE HORSE 65buying for some classes of work. The first pointof importance is to ascertain whether the hocksare naturally of good shape. If they are, it isfau'ly safe to assume that the unsoundness musthave been caused either when the horse was veryyoung, or else by some unusual and extraordinarystrain.

Curbs are sprung in a moment, just as the anklein the human being may be sprained during agame, or even when walking. Hunters constantlyinjure themselves suddenly when jumping ; but iftheir hocks are well shaped, and they are over theperiod of active trouble, there is no reason whythey should not perform harness work soundly forthe rest of their natural lives, although it mightbe wise not to hunt them again. For example acob, as a three-year-old, threw out a curb on thenear hind leg, owing to being ridden by a man tooheavy for it at that early age. Once the activemischief ceased, the working ability of that ponywas in no way impaired, and it was still goingsoundly and well in its daily work many yearslater. If the history of a curb can be ascertained,and its origin can be proved to date back to a timewhen the horse was either immature or was beinghunted, then it would be fairly safe to buy the


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ee THE HortsEanimal for harness work. A horse bought cheaplybecause of some defect must, of com'se, always besomething in the natm^e of a gamble, but in thecase of the particular unsoundness in question, itis safe to assert that once the inflammatory condi-tion is dead, and the injured ligaments have as-sumed their abnormal shape or position, the matteris at an end, and the horse capable of ordinarywork. The worst to be feared is that the horsemay periodically go lame in the leg owing torheumatism in the altered structure ; but this is notof common occurrence, although lameness in a legwith a long-standing curb, unaccompanied by heat,may perhaps be traced to something of a rheumaticnature.

Apparently sound horses which rest a hind leg(or indeed any leg) at every opportunity shouldnot be purchased. If a horse is very tired after aday's hunting or a long journey he often rests hisleg, but it will then be seen that he changes fre-quently from one to the other, and favors neither.He may also legitimateh^, when in his stable andtired, point one fore and the opposite hind foot,resting his nose meanwhile in the manger, inwhich attitude he apparently goes to sleep. Heshould not, however, habitually rest a certain leg


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THE HOESE 67whenever opportunity occurs, in harness or other-wise, and if he does so it is a sm^e indication thattliere is a sense of discomfort, which will probablyultimately manifest itself.The older the damage the less knob-like and the

more diffuse and spread-out is a curb, so that fromits shape alone it is possible for the expert to esti-mate whether it is of long standing.

It is possible, of course, for a horse to get aswelling in the position of a curb from kicking inharness, or from a blow. When a buyer is assuredthat the defect is due to some such cause, it isextremely difficult for him to prove to his ownsatisfaction that the injury is in reality incipientcurb ; at the same time, the latter is deep-seated,and feels quite different to the superficial swellingof a bruise.Curb is an unsoundness which is as difficult to

hide from the initiated as broken knees, hence itis waste of time to try and make a cure whichleaves no telltale scar. In very bad cases theprmiitive method of filing proves efficacious, be-cause the burning of the skin causes it to contractand hence act as a more or less efficient brace tothe weakened part. In slight cases, when heatand lameness are the only indications that sona^-


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68 THE HORSEthing is "^Tong, a blister composed of biniodide ofmercury, one part ; lard, four parts, should be im-mediately well rubbed in. The horse must haveabsolute rest and a light diet, and should be fitfor work again when the effects of the blisterhave worn off.

Spavin(See Fig. 26.) This complaint must not be con-

fused with bog spavin, to which it is not even re-motely allied. Bone spavin, as we Avill call it toavoid confusion, is extremely common in somedistricts, and is much more prevalent in somebreeds of horses than others. Actually it may bedefined as a bony enlargement found on the insideand lower part of the hock, due to disease.To understand the exact nature of bone spavin,

we must return to a study of the horse's hock.As already mentioned, it is usually composed of sixbones, sometimes of seven, according to whethercertain of the bones are naturally fused together,or separate, or altogether absent. As evolution-ists are well aware, the horse is descended from afive-toed ancestor, and the two splint bones arerudiments of tv\^o additional toes. As evolution-ary changes are always much retarded, if not en-


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THE HORSE 69tirely suppressed, under domestication, we findthat horses are subject to a certain amount ofvariation in the number of bones which go tomake the hock joint, and these differences nodoubt have a certain elfect on the capabilities ofthe individual Tlie tendency is, of course, forthe number of bones to diminish in correspondencewith the loss of the toes with which they wereonce articulated, but owing to reversion somehorses possess additional rudimentary bones in thehock which are of no use, and should not actuallybe there. It is probably this variation, and theconsequent instability of the joint, which indi-rectly causes horses to be so predisposed to spavinand other bone diseases in this region. It will beseen, on reference to the diagram of the hock, thatthere is normally on its inner side a column ofbones composed of the astra^galus, large cuneiform,and median cuneiform, which rest on the meta-carpal or cannon bone. Owing to jar, strain, orwork, the bones become inflamed, usually betweenthe metatarsal and median cuneiform, or betweenthis and the large cuneiform. Inflammation ofbone, its covering membrane, and its articularcartilages, always leads to abnormal limey depos-its at the seat of inflammation, hence the result


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YO THE HOUSEof disorganization of this region is a bony enlarge-ment, which is called bj horse-owners spavm.

In the case in question the infla^med bones areultimately fused together by the deposit whichresults from the inflammation, so that instead ofthe front of the hock being composed of a columnof separate bones, each of which plays compara-tively freely over the others and feels smooth tothe touch, it becomes fused into a rough, unsightlymass. The seriousness of spavin depends largelyupon the extent and position of this fusion. Ifonly the cannon bone and median cuneiform areinvolved, or even if fusion extends to the largecuneiform also, the horse will be unsound, ofcourse, but not necessarily much the worse. Butif fusion extends higher up, between the largecuneiform and astragalus, the horse will be unableto bend liis hocks properly, and his capacity forwork will be very materially depreciated thereby.Also the more to the front the fusion is, themore serious it is. Therefore the seriousness orotherwise of spavin depends mainly upon its ex-tent and position, which are easily ascertained byfeeling for the rough bony deposit with thefingers, and by noting the manner in which thehorse bends his hocks. A horse which cannot


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THE HORSE 71back freely, in conjunction with other suspiciousindications, is probably suffering from hocktrouble.As in the case of curb, a horse is usually onlylame from spavin when the inflammation is active,and the bony enlargement actually in process offormation. Unlike curb, however, the hind actioncan never be quite the same again, however slightthe disease, because of the hindrance to the per-fect freedom of movement which inevitably takesplace. As already stated, the lower down thedisease, the less is the horse's action affected ; thusa lot of work might be got out of a horse withslight spavin if the inflammation is no longer act-ive. It must always be remembered that spavinis perhaps a natural evolutionary tendency towarda union of the bones of the hock, and that a hockwhich is weakly formed will almost inevitably be-come more badly diseased if the animal has tocarry heavy weights, pull heavy loads up hills, orperform work which will create compression orsevere strain on this part. Therefore only a horsewhich moves well and soundly, and has well-shaped hocks, should be consideredat a priceifit has a moribund spavin low down and to oneside of the leg. An animal in which the action is


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72 THE HORSEaffected, which has a considerable development ofthe disease, and the shape of the hocks of whichare not quite satisfactory, should be avoided byany one who hopes to have a horse capable ofdoing regular work of an exacting nature.The treatment of spavin, when a horse shows

by lameness and heat that he is developing thedisease, consists in endeavoring to hasten the unionof the bony surfaces. Unlike curb, the diseasecomes on slowly and insidiously, and may bechecked by blistering and firing, if taken m time.It must not be expected, however, that a perfectcure, leaving no trace, can ever be effected. Inyoung horses complete restwhich, indeed, is es-sential at all agesand a blister, may check theevil before serious mischief is done, so that noth-ing but a poor hind action and some ridge-likemarks across the front of the joint, which mayescape the notice of an unobservant person, willbe left to tell the tale of past trouble.

Hock LamenessA horse may sometimes be suspiciously stiff inhis hind action, may even be lame in the hock,and yet have neither heat nor exostosis. Manypeople have been puzzled by cases of this nature,


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THE HORSE ^3and have at length been obliged to discard thehorse for a lameness which, as there is no outwardindication oi trouble, it w^as impossible to cure.As a horse should not be bought if it is actuallylame, it is unnecessary to enter into the details ofthis stage of the complaint, but the probable causeof an unnaturally stiff movement w^hen no spavinis visible wall be of value to the reader. As al-ready shown, the hock is normally composed ofa number of small bones, which are naturallylubricated by a secretion called synovia, whichenables them to play freely over one another. Itis possible for a jar or severe strain to set up in-flammation and ultimate bony union between theinner edges of the adjacent bones, or actually be-tween the upper and lower surfaces of any of thesuperimposed bones. Disease which is deep-seatedlike this w^ill obviously be undiscoverable to eyeor hand, and, once the active stage is past, nothingwill be left but a stiffness of gait, w^hich will beapparent to any one acquainted with the correctway in which a horse should move. It is not safeto trust to the actual footmarks made by a horseto decide whether he is bending his hocks in theway he should, because some horses learn tocounteract the disability left by liock disease by


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74 THE HOESEmoving their legs forward from the hip in a ratherpeculiar way, and thus more than cover with theirhind foot the print left by the front one. It canonly be repeated that hocks which are not bentare often diseased, and that it is possible for theunsoundness to be in such a position that it isabsolutely undiscoverable. In these cases, aveterinary surgeon of course passes the horse assound, provided it is not actually lame at the timehe sees it.

It is impossible to say whether horses withoccult spavin, as it has been called, should* bepurchased or refused. Much depends upon theactual case ; but it is strongly recommended thatwhere this disease is suspected, a few days' trialprior to purchase should be absolutely insistedupon as a preliminary condition. If this is notallowed, refuse the horse at any price. In an ob-scure complaint of this nature, with no surfaceindication, it is, of course, impossible to tellwhether the disease is active or is of long stand-ing, and it is upon the elucidation of this pointthat the advisabilit}" of purchase depends. If thehock is slightly inliamed, a hard day's work willresult in lameness next day ; if the inflammatorystage is long since past, the horse will be but little


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THE HORSE 75stiffer in his gait after work than he was before.Therefore it is essential that he be under the en-tire control, and in the stable, of the would-bepurchaser for at least a couple of days, so that hecan be submitted to a thorough test, and so thathis habits, i. e., predisposition to rest the leg at orafter work, etc., can be observed. If he comesout of the ordeal none the worse, then he is prob-ably worth buying at a price commensurate ^"ithhis poor hind action. It should be added that athirty-mile drive will fairly test a horse for mostof the common unsoundnesses of the legs.

Another Mysterious Complaint"When a very taking horse is offered to one at a

very reasonable price, the natural conclusion tocome to is that something is wrong with it. If,on examination, it proves to be free from splints,spavins, curbs, wind-trouble, and all the commonand obvious unsoundnesses, one is rather at a lossto discover what is the matter. A case of thissort came to notice not long ago. The pony wasa model. It w^as apparently sound, quiet, anddesirable in every respect, and yet the prospectivepurchaser was convinced that all w^as not rightwith it. The owner was persuaded to leave it on


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76 THE HORSEtrial, payment of a definite sum for hire to bemade if it was not ultimately purchased. Drivingrevealed the fact that the pony had a tendency to" drop " one hind leg occasionally in the course ofa drive. ISTot only this, but it rested the leg muchin the stable, and, furthermore, evinced a tendencyto shivering in that thigh. Eventually it wasfound possible to cause slight pain by pressure ona certain part of the thigh, and the ultimate con-clusion come to was that the pony was sufferingfrom some disorder which affected the sciaticnerve. A sudden twinge of pain, which it ap-parently felt occasionally, no doubt caused thesudden drop of the leg, which was dangerous, asit always occurred going down-hill.The above incident is submitted, partly to show

how difficult it may be to detect certain classes ofdisease, and also to emphasize the great benefitof always having a horse in one's own stable forat least a day or two before buying it. If a sellerstrongly objects to allow a trial to a responsibleperson, his prejudices may be overcome by theoffer of the papnent of a reasonable sum, perweek, if no sale takes place. If he refuses anysuch arrangement, the buyer has probably not lostan animal which it was worth his while to buy.


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THE HORSE Y7Synovial Enlargements

(See Fig. 26.) Horses may have a variety ofmore or less soft enlargements in the region ofthe hock or hoof, due to an effusion of the jointoil or synovia. Xormally the fluid is kept in itsplace by taut membranes ; but sometimes owingto overwork when young, however, or to actualweakness of the binding tissue, the synovial sacsmay bulge out in certain places where they areunsupported by ligaments, and cause wind-galls(these more commonly on the fetlocks than on thehocks), bog spavin, or thoroughpin. This class ofderangement does not usually cause lameness orincapacitate a horse from work ; it is merely un-sightly. Therefore a mature horse, with a soft,cool swelling which is situated on the inner frontof the hock, need not be refused on this score.Bad bog spavin is often accompanied by thorough-pin, which is a similar distention situated justabove the point of the hock and in front of thetendon.

Capped Hocks(See Fig. 26.) Capped hocks are common and

unsightly, and lower the value of a horse ; butthey are of no disadvantage from a practical point


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TB THE HORSEof view. Actually they are caused by an abnor-mal accumulation of watery matter, accumulatedin a sac formed between the tendon attached tothe point of the hock and the skin. They areusually due to blows either accidentally inflictedor caused by the kicking of the horse, and it is al-ways advisable to take special trouble to ascertainwhether an animal with this disfigurement is anhabitual kicker in harness. Badly bred horsessometimes become the victims of a mange insectwhich particularly favors the hind legs, and causesthe horse to stamp and fret ceaselessly in hisstable, especially during the night, and during theautumn and winter. In his distress, he is ex-tremely likely to damage the point of his hockagainst the stall di\asion or wall. The ob\dousremedy lies in exterminating the parasites, whichis easily done by washing the legs with soft soapand water, and applying a few dressings of equalparts of paraffin oil and sweet oil. When a horserubs one hind leg against the other, stamps andkicks out, and shows every indication of extremeirritation at the back of the legs between heel andhock, as well as a scaly dry eruption, this para-site should be suspected, as it is much commonerthan many people might suppose.


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THE HORSE 79It is possible that an insufficient supply of bed-

ding may sometimes lead indirectly to cappedhocks, especially if an ani-mal is startled into risinghurriedly when lying down.

Splints(See Fig. 27.) To turn to

the fore legs, Ave will dealfirst with the nature andcause of splint, which ispossibly the commonest ab-normal structure to be foundon a horse's legs, but whichonly under certain circum-stances, to be exactly deter-mined hereafter, constitutesan unsoundness.The splint bones are two

rudimentary, or rather ves-tigiar}^, cannon bones situ- Fig. 27.Diagram of theated on either side of the geg!' ^'"^ ' ^" ^cannon bone proper, on both l, cannon bone; 2, splintbone;J, 1 1 1 1 rm 3, its button-like termination;tore and hmd leg's. Iney 4, position of spiiuts; 5, sus-~ '^ peiisory ligament; 6, seat ofare of interest, as already side-bones.hinted, as affording evidence that the horse is de-


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80 THE HORSEscended from a live-toed ancestor. They representthe second and fourth digits, the horse walkingupon the third. The first and fifth digits, corre-sponding to our thumb and little finger, have longago disappeared. The heads of the sphnt bonesarticulate with some of the bones in the lowerrow of the knee and hock, hence a total loss ofthe former would involve considerable alterationin both knee and hock, which state of evolutionhas not yet been reached. Therefore our horsesstill continue to possess the useless and even det-rimental rudimentary splint bones, as they arecalled, which sometimes cause him considerablepain, and may in certain circumstances depreciatehis value.Xormal splint bones usually have small button-

like terminations which are the only vestige left ofthe moribund digits, and may be felt through theskin. These little bulbs are likely to be mistaken bythe uninitiated for splints, especially in breeds suchas Iceland ponies, in which they are unusually welldeveloped.The rudimentary metacarpals and metatarsals

are attached to the cannon bone by strong inter-osseous ligaments, which have a tendency to benaturally converted into bone with advancing


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THE HORSE 81years. The disease called splint is an abnormaldeposit of bone between the splint bone and thecannon bone, caused probably most frequently bysprain of the interosseous ligament and subsequentinflammation. The inflammation may, however,be set up in other ways. The jar of trottingalong a hard road, a blow, or indeed any violentshock to the leg of a young horse may be sufii-cient to cause it, and the fact that it is so muchcommoner to find a splint on the fore than onthe hind legs is due to the fact that the latter arefar less subject to concussion than the former.

Splints seem to occur more frequently on theinside rather than the outside of the leg, and arealways higher up than the bulbous termination,with which, therefore, they need never be con-founded. Presumably, during the natural courseof evolution, the tendency is for the splint bonesto become shorter and permanently welded to thecannon bones at an early age. Until this desirableresult is consummated in all horses, however,splints will continue to be a prevalent source oftrouble.

Splints are serious or not, as mentioned in thefirst chapter, according to their position, theirnumber, size, and activity, and the class of work


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82 THE HORSEexpected of a horse. They are easily felt as bonyexostoses at some position along the course of thesplint bones. If a horse has them on both sidesof each fore leg, it should be at once rejected astoo weak to be of use for hard work. More com-monly only one splint on the inner side of onefore leg will be felt, and in such a case the impor-tant point to consider is its position in relation tothe passage of the adjacent tendon.

Normally, the back of the cannon bone and thetwo splint bones form a groove for the suspensoryligament. If a splint forms on the inner side ofthe splint bone, the exostosis may press on theligament, and the consequent pain will cause achronic lameness. Again, a splint weU forwardand high up on the outside of the fore leg is apt tointerfere with the extensor tendon. Some oldcarriage horses become chronically lame owing tothe " growth " of a splint which eventually be-comes so large as to press on the suspensory liga-ment, although for the greater part of life it hadgiven them no trouble. Therefore the position isthe chief factor to take into consideration whenestimating the gi'avity of this disease.Owing to the fragile connection in youth be-

tween the metacarpal and splint bones, young


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THE HORSE 83horses, under five years of age, are most liable tothis complaintindeed, comparatively few three-year-olds escape a slight inflammation during theirperiod of training. The lameness soon passes off,however, and rest and a mild blister will com-plete the cure by hastening a bony union at theinjured spot. On the other hand, splints oftenbecome absorbed in old animals which are enjoy-ing a period of rest, and it is by no means uncom-mon to find that they have diminished or even dis-appeared vdth the increasing years of their owner.As splints do not constitute unsoundness unless

they are actually causing lameness, and as lame-ness is (except in those instances in w^hich thesplint, owing to its position, causes the horse to bechronically lame) only evidenced when the splintis forming, it is safe to buy a horse with even arather large spKnt on one fore leg if the growth ismoribund and not unfavorably situated. In themajority of cases, as already mentioned, the growthwill diminish with age, and it is in no way likelyto interfere with the working capabilities of a horse.

Side-bones(See Fig. 27.) Cartilage is extremely liable to

ossify if injured. The disease called side-bones is


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84 THE HORSEthe ossification of the natui'ally elastic lateralcartilages attached to the pedal bone, and is easilyfelt as a hard, rough lump, which may vary fromthe size of a pea upward. Usually only the forefeet are affected, and cart horses rather than lighthorses are liable to the complaint. Tliis is prob-ably due to the fact that the disease is almost al-ways brought on by external injury, and that farmhorses harnessed abreast are extremely liable totread on one another's feet when tm^ning inploughing, etc. That the disease is usually con-tracted in this way is proved by the fact that it isalmost always an outside cartilage which is af-fected. In cart horses, not much is thought of thedisease, as animals with it can perform a greatamount of work on soft ground at a walking pace.It is a grave unsoundness, however, in light horses,one, moreover, which may increase as time goeson, and no horse should be purchased for trottingroad work which has a suspicion of the disease.The pain of side-bone is caused by the nipping orpressure, as it were, of soft tissues between the ab-normal deposit of bone and the hoof, and this isobviously likely to increase as the disease extends,and to be worse after severe work on hard roads.Cart horses with side-bones will often be lame for


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THE HORSE 85a day or two after one twenty-mile journey on theroad, although they will be able to work regularlyon the land day after day without discomfort.

It is sometimes difficult to detect side-bone inits very early stages, as the horse may not be per-manently lame, but may onl}^ '' drop " a little onceor twice when first moved after a rest. As al-ready stated, the place to search for incipient dis-ease is on the outsides of the fore feet, and if thecartilages seem to have in the slightest degree losttheir natural elasticity and smoothness, the horseshould be refused. The ossification usually beginsas a small spot on some part of the cartilage, andfrom thence spreads in every direction until theenthe cartilage is changed into a rough, bonymass, lacking the smoothness and sharp definitionof true bone.

In bringing these remarks on a few of the com-mon diseases of the legs to a close, it must beadded that they are intended rather as a guide tothe buyer than as a treatise from the veterinarypoint of view.Almost every horse which is offered at an ap-

parently fair, as opposed to a fancy price, '' hassomething." The question usually is, Will that" somethiDg " invalid him if he is -put to certain


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86 THE HORSEregular work, or is he likely to turn out " practi-cally sound " ? This question we have endeavoredto answer in detail under the various headings:broadly it may be stated, however, that hocktroubles are likely to be increased by hunting orheavy draught work, although there are no doubtmen who get all the sport they require out of ahorse filled in both hocks; and that side-bones,splints in certain positions, and any feet troublesmust be viewed with the greatest suspicion inhorses which have to work at a fast pace upon theroads.


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CHAPTEE lYStables and Appliances

The average individual has, as a rule, to makeuse of such stabling as he finds himself possessedof, and it must be confessed that very often theaccommodation at his command falls very farshort of the ideal. A number of inexpensivemodifications can, however, generally be made,which will add not only to the comfort, but to thegeneral welfare of the inhabitants. It must be re-membered that a horse spends the greater part ofhis working life in the stable, and that, under thesecircumstances, his health can only be secured bydue attention to the sanitary conditions underwhich he lives.

Cubical SpaceIt is usually said that 1,200 cubic feet is the

minimum space required by each horse in a stablefor the maintenance of health. As, however, theaverage London cab and carriage horse stables87


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88 THE HORSEgenerally allow only about half, or less than half,this number, it is apparently possible for horses tolive and be capable of work in a very much morerestricted area. It must be added that horseswhose work takes them for long hours out-of-doors will be healthier, and will be able to liveunder less favorable conditions when under cover,than those who only escape from the vicinityof four walls for one or two hom\s out of thetwenty-four. Farm horses who do their regulareight to ten homes' work daily can live healthilyin stables which would be utterly condemned forthe housing of light horses ; but the factor whichmakes it possible is not any inherent hardinessof the heavier breeds, but merely theu^ mode oflife.

It is presumed that the horse-owner is givinghis animals the greatest amount of cubic spacethat his building permits of. To aid in this de-sirable end, the empty staU or stalls should not belittered up with odds and ends, and allowed tobecome untidy, du^ty receptacles for the depositof rubbish. Every empty stall in a small stablemeans more air for the occupants of other stalls,and no detail of this kind is too insignificant to beoverlooked.


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THE HORSE 89Ventilation

The next point to which attention must be paidis to the very important one of ventilation. Thecorrect method of securing the ingress of outsideair without causing inconvenient draught is by aseries of windows placed on both sides along thelength of the stable above the head of each horse.If there is a double row of stalls with passagedown the centre and a door at each end of thebuilding, fresh air will gain entrance at rightangles to that admitted by the windows, so thatno part of the stall is unduly favored, and noneof the horses are placed in a position of advantage.Below the manger, and about a foot from thefloor, a row of air-bricks ensures that the air nearthe floor does not become stagnant.The commonest form of stable usually found is

that in which the door and window are in thecentre of the front wall, the row of stalls beingplaced immediately opposite. The great disad-vantage of this plan is that there is no throughdraught or free circulation of air, and such air asis admitted is on the side farthest from the horses'nostrils. It may be possible, if the buildingstands alone, to have a ventilator placed in thewall at each end of the stable high up, at smaU


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90 THE HORSEexpense corajDared to the advantage gained.Some old-fashioned stables are provided with hay-racks communicating with the loft above, andopen to objections as these racks are, they mayyet be desii-able in an otherwise ill-ventilatedstable, as they allow a current of comparativelyfresh air to reach each horse.Another plan of stabling, which perhaps is the

worst of all, is that in which the door and windoware at one end of the building and the stalls stretchaway from them. The horse nearest the win

Horse How to Care For It

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