The historie of foure-footed beastes Describing the true and liuely figure of euery beast, with a discourse of their seuerall names, conditions, kindes, vertues (both naturall and medicinall) countries of their breed, their loue and hate to mankinde, and the wonderfull worke of God in their creation, preseruation, and destruction. Necessary for all diuines and students, because the story of euery beast is amplified with narrations out of Scriptures, fathers, phylosophers, physitians, and poets: wherein are declared diuers hyerogliphicks, emblems, epigrams, and other good histories, collected out of all the volumes of Conradus Gesner, and all other writers to this present day. By Edward Topsell.

How to know when a horse halteth before in what part his griefe is.

Being now come to talke of the griefes in the shoulders, legs, hips, houghes, ioyntes,

and hooues, causing the horse most commonly to halt: I thinke it good first to shew you the way how to find in what part of his legs the horse is grieued when he halteth either be∣fore or behind. And first you haue to consider that if a horse halteth before, it must be ey∣ther in his shoulders, in his legs, or in his feet. If it be in his shoulders and new hurt, the horse wil not lift that leg, but traile it nigh the ground. If it be old hurt, he wil cast that Leg further from him in his going then the other, and if he be turned on the foreside, then he wil halt so much the more. If a horse halteth in the leg, it is either in the knee, in the shank, or els in the pastern ioynt, if it be either in the knee, or pastern ioynt, he will not bow that leg in his going like the other, but go very stifly vpon it. If he halteth in the shank, then it [ 10] is by means of some splent, wind-gal, or such apparant griefe, apt to be seen or felt. If he halt in the foot, it is either in the cronet, heele, in the toe, in the quarters, or sole of the foot. If it be in the cronet the griefe wil be apparant, the skin being broken or swolen some man∣ner of way: if in the heele, as by ouerreach or otherwise, then he wil tread most on the toe: if vpon any of the quarters, then going on the edge of a bank or hilly ground, he will halt more then on the plain ground, and by the horses comming toward you, and going from you vpon such edge or banck, you shall easily perceiue whether his griefe be in the inward quarter or in the outward quarter: the quarter is to be vnderstood, from the mid-hooue to the heele.

If he halt in the toe, which is not commonly seen, then he wil tred more vpon the heele. [ 20] If the griefe be in the sole of his foot, then he wil halt al after one sort vpon any ground, vn∣lesse it be vpon the stones. And to be sure in what part of the foote the griefe is, it shall be good first to make him go vpon the plain ground, and then vpon a hard & stony ground: yea, and also a banky ground. Thus hauing declared vnto you in generall, how to know in what part a horse is grieued when he halteth before: I thinke it meete first to shew you or∣derly all the particular griefes and sorances, whereunto the fore-parts of a horse is subiect, together with the causes, signs and cure thereof. That done, I will speak of halting behind, and shew you first generally where the griefe is, and then particulary declare vnto you e∣uery griefe incident to the hinder parts of a horse. And lastly, I will speake of such griefes and sorances as are commonly in both parts, that is to say, as wel to the forelegs and fore-feet, [ 30] as to the hinder legs and hinder feet.