THE FOOT, INCAPABLE OF BEING FREELY
RAISED FROM THE GROUND, BY A HORSE
WHICH IS BADLY SPAVINED.
Bony spavin does, when the quadruped starts, sensibly deteriorate that grace of motion which should characterize the action of the perfect horse. During the trot, the leg should be lifted clear of the earth, while, by an involuntary movement within the hock-joint, the hoof is inclined outward. This peculiarity is exhibited in the engraving on page 289, which supposes the spectator to be standing by the side of the animals.
Exostosis, formed on any part, locks together the bones which the deposit may involve, or it unites the several distinct parts into one osseous mass. By the bones of the hock being thus joined, all movement of the shin is effectually prevented; the foot of a spavined horse is, to a spectator who is laterally situated, always presented in a side view. Moreover, when severe spavin is present, the entire flexion of the lower portion of the limb is rendered impossible.
THE FOOT OF A SPAVINED LIMB, SHOWING THE WEAR OF THE TOE OF THE HOOF AND SHOE; BOTH ARE CONSEQUENT UPON DRAGGING THE MEMBER UPON THE GROUND.
The toes being moved along, instead of being lifted from the ground, occasions the hoof and shoe to suffer wear. The hoof generally presents a toe blunted by perpetual friction; while the shoe of a spavined horse is, in front, worn to a state of positive sharpness. These indications of disease should always be sought for, and, when present, they are so obvious as hardly to be mistaken.
Another test for spavin consists in observation made upon the manner of going. A horse thus affected comes out of the stable always stiff, and sometimes lame. Exercise, by warming the body, seems to soften the stubbornness of the disease; and the same animal, which left the stable in a crippled condition, may return to it in a state which, to the generality of gentlemen, would represent soundness. So well are dealers acquainted with this fact, that it is a custom with these folks for a spavined horse to be warmed before it is shown to a probable purchaser. No person, however, should hazard an opinion on any quadruped which is not perfectly cool, especially when there is a motive to be suspected of the slightest desire for a favorable judgment. The horse which, after exercise, should trot past with no obvious sign of spavin, having stood for an hour in the stable, would come forth a decided cripple, or, at all events, with such faulty action that a novice would immediately detect something wrong about the legs. This peculiarity is illustrated by the engraving which heads the present chapter.
Should the dealer refuse to exhibit the animal when cool, such refusal would be convincing evidence as to the condition of the horse. The sale should, under such circumstances, be at once repudiated.
However, when judging of disease, it is always well to divest the mind of every kind of prejudice. Animals of a certain kind of conformation are said to be disposed, or to be more than ordinarily subject, to spavin. Creatures of the foregoing sort show what are denominated sickle-hocks or cow-hocks. A sickle-hock is not a diseased joint, but it is one which the majority of horsemen have stigmatized as very liable to become diseased. Weakness, it it is only natural to imagine, such a malformation indicates; but, so far as the author's experience goes, creatures thus formed often continue sound when limbs of model shape give way.