CAUSE OF DETERIORATION 55 



to complain of, however much they may regret, those 

 decrees of Providence which bring about sickness in 

 men, or of those practices of men which increase it 

 in horses. Farming horses don't often need a ' vet,' 

 and the healthier a horse is, the less, of course, the 



* vet ' knows about him, the less necessity there is 

 for his being doctored, the less necessity for the 

 ' vet.' And Arabs do not much need a ' vet.' 



But the ' spavined, ringboned, roaring creatures, 

 leggy and deficient,' which so many complain of, can 

 only be kept running by the aid of ' vets.' Is it 

 any wonder, therefore, that the ' vets ' get to adopt 

 the views of the racing men, that the spavined, 

 roaring, sickly thoroughbred is the best horse in the 

 world ? So he certainly is — for the ' vets.' Their 

 business is to physic and cure sickly horses. If 

 there were no sickly horses, there would be none 

 to physic or cure. 



I dare say that, from the * vet's ' point of view, 



* the Arab is a failure.' Mr. Blunt publicly stated 

 at his sale (August 14, 1901) that his veterinary 

 surgeon's bill for the year amounted to only ^5 3s., 

 a fraction over a shilling a head. The Boer 

 burghers did not breed for sprinting ; they didn't 

 much need 'vets.' If they had, De Wet would 

 have been caught two years before he was. The 

 Boer bred for use, and consequently laughed at us. 

 Should not that be a lesson ? I recognise, as well 

 as the racing men, that a sound, good thoroughbred, 

 when you can get him, is a grand animal, and is 



