This is one of the evils which chiefly are the property of the better breed of horses. Man delights to show off the animal he is mounted upon. Be it male or female, old or young, the equestrian is always pleased by the prancing of the horse. The creature seems to comprehend, and to derive gratification from obeying the wish of its superior. It enters into the desires of its dictator, without a thought of prudence or a care for its personal safety. In hunting or in racing, the simple horse more than shares the excitement of its rider, and often encounters the severest accidents in consequence of these amusements. That which is pastime to man frequently proves death to his amiable servant. Often is the animal so maimed by these sports as to necessitate its life being taken upon the course or in the field. [Illustration: A CURB.] These reflections are very painful to any body who appreciated the loving and devoted character of the quadruped. Among the least of its sufferings probably may be reckoned =curb=, although the mark of the affection nearly always remains for life, and the misfortune sometimes quite disables the horse which incurs it. It consists of an enlargement, or a gradual bulging out, at the posterior of the hock. There is some dispute about the seat of curb. The author examined a hock which had chronic curb, and found the perforan tendon disorganized. The late Mr. W. Percival (the respected originator of the very best work upon the horse and its diseases which is extant in the English language) also inspected a hock, and found the sheath of the tendon more involved than the tendon itself. However, a slight acquaintance with the mystery of anatomy assures us that the tendon must have been stretched when the sheath was injured, since the first invests and is inserted into the last. It is well known that synovial membrane is far more sensitive than tendon. It is therefore probable that the membrane would exhibit disease before the tendon displayed the slightest symptom of being affected. The membrane is also capable of displaying the signs of injury long after every trace may have disappeared from the tendon itself.