Points of a Good Horse.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 23 October 1914, Page 2

Points of a Good Horse.

SOME "USEFUL HINTS

Addressing a meeting at Narracoorte, S.A., Mr. W. J. Cole-

batch, Superintendent of Agriculture, said cornea of the eye should l:e free from opaciries, and the pupil clear and transparent. If they founda horse with one of the eyes small they might conclude that it was subject to recurrent opthalmia. They should also notice the alertness of the eye and the hearing, and examine the ears for small cancerous growths. They should look beneath the jawbone to see if there was an open wound, due to a rup-, ture of a salivary^ gland duct.; This was a troublesome injury, and; horses so a fleeted were rarely good buying. . He would not^ place too much stress on 'tho-'-larripas. He did not believe in burning them out. They should look down the neck for any lumps and examine the jugular vein. A good deal .of bleeding; was still done in parts of Eng-" land, but in modern veterinary practice it was hardly ever resorted to. Sore shoulders were some"-," times caused by a fungus. I?ig tumours, broad based, with pus issuing from depressions all over their surfaces, would sometimes be found' on the'shoulders. ' They;usually -required surgical treatment,' biit when widely spread it. was often wise to resort to counter-irritants first. The effect of blistering them was to contract them, and then they were .more easily . excised. He directed particular attention to the forearms, as their development indicated the natural shape , and symmetry. Well-placed splints were no detriment to ahorse. . Three kinds of splints had to be looked for. First, the knee splint, which w"as placed so close to the joint that' extension and flexion resulted in painful pressure and lameness, Second, the posterior splint, situated at the back of the .cannon bone and interfering with the free play of the suspensory ligament and flexor tendons at the back of the leg. Third, the bridge splints, which, resulted from the development of a ridge of. bone across the. posterior face—-of the cannon bone from one splint to another! Splints were the resiJltL".,;,:.of"-- hereditary disease, but wore not regarded as serious hereditary defects except, so far as their presence .in large numbers was indicative of a soft, spongy type of horse. He counselled an examination of the back of the forelegs. Flat bone was a misnomer. ' Ringbone was a development of bone round the coronet joint, and should be examined closely. He would not buy a horse with greasy heels, because there was no certain cure for it. They would see that the frog was good,_ and wide heels were ne-

cessary for a good, strong horse. The bars on the foot should never be touched. There was a danger of foundering caused by overfeeding. Fistulous withers, poll evil, and quittor were touched upon, and he explained that in the case of grey or white horses an inspection under the dock for malignant tumour's should always be made. The stifle required examination.