The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

248 The Management and Treatment of the Horse,
mark the round bones which are situated a little posterior
to the prominence of the hip. This is liable to lameness
from blows, strains, and other causes. If there is any
fault here, there will be a wasting of the muscles, and
the defect will be more readily detected when the horse
is in motion. If any symptom of lameness is observable,
pass the hand over the spot, and heat is sure to be found
in the part: it may be probably verified by applying
your nose to the part, for in all probability there will be
the smell of some liniment which has been applied.
When examining a horse, never let the dealer's man
hold its head high, nor place its feet on rising ground,
because, as I have said before, while a horse stands in
this position the defects (if he has any) of its fore-legs
will not be apparent, whereas if it stands with its feet on
the level ground, if the limbs have been shaken from hard
work, they will exhibit a tremulous appearance, the
knees will be more or less bent, and the heels will not
rest firmly on the ground as they ought to do. Horses
that have been hard worked will have the fetlocks of the
hind legs bent and relaxed, and the natural elasticity of
the tendons and ligaments will have departed. The horse
that is termed groggy, when standing in a quiescent
state, will be found with a leaning posture over the fore-
legs, the feet of which will be further under the belly
than the upper portion of the limbs, and the entire limb
forming a flat semi-circle with the knees at the extreme
point of the curve. In looking at the action of a horse
6QQ tli at its feet are lifted high, and that all four feet
clear the ground. Some horses have high action with
their fore-feet, and would scarcely knock over a sixpenny