Common Diseases of Farm Animals

by Robert Alexander Craig

QUESTIONS

1. Name the different bones of the fore-limb; hind limb.

2. Describe the regions of the shoulder, arm and forearm.

3. Describe the region of the forefoot.

4. Describe the regions of the haunch, thigh and leg.

5. Describe the region of the hindfoot.

CHAPTER XV

UNSOUNDNESSES AND BLEMISHES

GENERAL DISCUSSION.—The value of a horse depends largely on the condition of the limbs and their ability to do the work for which they are intended. This fact is frequently overlooked by experienced horsemen, who give attention to general conformation and action rather than to soundness of limb.

Diseases affecting the limbs may be classed as unsoundnesses and blemishes. This classification is based on the degree to which the disease interferes or may interfere with the work that the animal is called on to perform. Unsoundnesses interfere with the use of the part or the use of the animal for a certain work; blemishes do not. Such a basis for the classification of diseases does not enable us to place certain diseased conditions of the limbs in the unsound, or the blemish class at all times. A curb may, if it produces lameness, be classed as an unsoundness. If it does not cause the animal to go lame, and the enlargement on the posterior border of the hock is small, it is classed as a blemish. A high splint may place the animal in the unsound class, but usually a low splint is not considered a serious blemish. This classification is based to a certain extent on the relative economic importance of the disease, or the influence that the disease may have on the value of the animal, as well as any interference with the animal's ability to work.