THE HORSE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XVIII, Issue XVIII, 22 October 1912, Page 5

THE HORSE.

AN INTERESTING LECTURE.

( Mr A. R. Young, supervisor of the Government "v etennarv Department^ gave an interesting- address on tht> noise at Masterton last week.

MOTOR-CAR SUPPLANTING- THE

HORSiS.

Mr Young said that to-day the motorcar was knocuung the horse out, witii,, perhaps, the exception of the drangno norse. Wiien purchasing a horse a, tanner should see that tne animal is at tiie stamp tnat he requires. The expression ot tne face was an important things in horses, and fanners should study this point when buying a horse. An animal should have good, sharp, alert ears, good forohead, good botly and ■ action. ■All horses with any pretension to qualitypossess length and s>traightness from the nip to the taiJ. Length from hip U» hock is the criterion both of soeed and power. _ All horses should be well Jefcdcnvn in their quarters, affording increase of length and volume in the. muscles, power, and speed accruing. Tha f-annon hone should not be too fine. The haunch bone should be strong and long, .in<i the thigh bone strong'and o£ average length. A good, stifle is high up, abutting the flank. This is the concentration of power in all classes, and is a certain sign that the haunch bona is well i?ioped forward, and that the thigh-bone is well carried back. Weak, ill-defined knees should be avoided, while good feet and pasterns are necessary.

BURNING FOR LAMPAS CONDEMNED. Mr Young spoke strongly against burning out lampas. Lampas is an active inflammation of the riages or fleshybars in the loof of the mouth, the "bars" swelling so much that sometime* they project below the level of the nip-I-ers, and are so tender that all hard and dry food is refused. The proper treatment is to scarify the gums with a pocket-knife. If a handkerchief were wrapped round the knife, leaving only the point of the blade free, there \rouu? bo no chance oi: the knife closing on the user's hand, while the horse's . tongue should be pulled out at the side of "the mouth, and this would prevent the horse closing his mouth on the operator's hand. If a horse had lampas there was no need for a farmer to go to a veterinary surgeon, becauso the operation was a simple one, . and could fceperforme.l by a farmer himself. Scouring was causad in a great measure through bad teeth. The point of the shoulder was generally the seat of lameness in the horse. SIDE BONES. Side bones was a change to a, bony substance taking place in the lateral cartilages of the fore feet, being usually found in draught horses. Lameness is not invariably present, but the action, of the horse is stiff. The feet are contracted, altered in form, flat or convex m the sole and weak in the heels. The presence of side bones may be detected by pressing upon the cartilages. When in health these are yielding and elastic - when there is a side bone they are hardenlarged, and unyielding. RING BONE AND SAND CRACK. Ring bones are deposits of bony matter above and below the coronet. Lameness may not be present, although when inflammation is active it may be extreme. A sand crack is a fissure in the wall of the hoof, beginning at the coronet, and usually found in the inner quarters of the fore and the toes of the hind feet. Sand and dirt work into the sensitive parts, give severeppairn r and cause marked lameness. Sand cracks a-re hereditary, and are a terrible nuisance to the ftorse-owner. It was important, from a health point of Yiew'j that a farmer should.know how often a horse breathed in a minute, sothat colds, etc., could be detected. It was also necessary to feel the pulse and to know how many times it beats to* the minute. It is usually examined in the horse on the cord which runs across the bone of the loAver jaw, just in front of the curved portion, or inside the elbow. In draught horses the stifle jomt caused a lot of trouble. When dislocation took place a rope should be put round bhe horse's neck, passed down betwen the fore-legs, around the hind hoof, and the leg drawn up, ■ The joint; would then go into place again; if not a once, then a little pressure of the hand on the joint -"oulcl complete t*"* work.

BONE AND BOG 3PAVIN

Bone spavin is a bony growth on the inner and lower side 01 the "hock, arising from inflammation of t\\e adjacent bones, and very often creating a permanent unsoundness. Bog spavin is theresult of inflammation of the structures of the hock joint. It was a debateable point whether bog spavin was hereditary. Personally he believed it was.

STRINGFNT REGULATIONS FOR STRANGLES.

He advocated the Government making stringent regulations in regard to strangles. It should be made unlawful for a man to knowingly take a horse suffering from strangles into a public place, or to allow it to drink from a public watering-trough. Onoe strangles, .was introduced on to a farm, the owner never knew when he was going to get rid of the disease.