Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to hamstring (an animal).

1784		H. Lemoine ‘The Clever Fellow’ in Wit’s Mag. 155/1: And always ready, prigs can tell, / To gig a Smithfield hank.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: To gigg a Smithfield hank; to hamstring an over-drove ox, vulgarly called a mad bullock.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1832		in Egan Bk of Sports 146: And always ready, prigs can tell, / To gig a Smithfield hank.