DISEASES, DEFECTS, ETC. 91 



tottering of tlie whole of tlie fore leg, known by the name 

 of Grof/gincss, and which is so often seen in old and over- 

 worked Horses, is seldom an affection of either the fetlock 

 or pastern joints simply, although these have their full 

 share in the mischief that has been produced. It is some- 

 times difficult to fix on any particular joint ; at other times, 

 it seems to be traced to a joint deep in the foot, where the 

 flexor tendon runs over the navicular bone. It seems 

 usually to be a want of power in the ligaments of the 

 joints, generally produced by frequent and severe sprains, 

 or by ill-judged and cruel exertion, and, in the majority 

 of cases, admits of no remedy, esf)ecially as dissection often 

 discovers ulceration within the joints and of the membrane 

 which lines the cartilage, and even of the cartilage itself, 

 which it was impossible to reach or to remove (s) . "When 

 it exists in such a degree as to diminish the natural useful- 

 ness of the Horse, it must be considered an Unsoundness. 



Grunting is an Unsoundness ; see Eoaring {a). Grunting. 



Gutta serena, commonly called Glass-eye, is a species of Gutta serena. 

 Blindness. The pupil is unusually dilated ; it is immove- 

 able, bright and glassy. It is a i^alsy of the optic nerve, 

 or its expansion, the retina, and is usually produced by 

 determination of blood to the head. It may be caused by 

 improper treatment of the Staggers, where the pressure on 

 the base of the brain has been so great, that the nerve has 

 been injured and its function destroyed [IS). It is an 

 Unsoundness. 



There is scarcely a malady to which the Horse is subject Hereditary 

 which is not Kcreditary. Contracted feet, Curb, Spavin, <ii«ease. 

 Hearing, Thick- wind, Blindness, notoriously descend from 

 the father and dam to the Foal, which from them inherits 

 its constitution and endurance (c). It would no doubt be 

 a matter of great difficidty to maintain an action on a 

 breach of warranty of soundness on the sale of a Horse, 

 on the groimd of Hereditary disease alone, but it is pre- 

 sumed to be just possible that if some general decay of 

 the system or such like, developing itself after sale, could 

 be proved to be Hereditary, the purchaser might have his 

 action ; and the following case appears somewhat in 

 point : — The plaintiff bought a hundred sheep warranted 

 sound ; about two months after sale fifty of them died of 



(::) Lib. U. K. "The Horse," (4) Lib. U. K. "The Horse," 



252. See also Lib. U. K. App. 116. And see Patent Defects, post. 



Ed. 1862, p. 507. (e) Lib. U. K. " The Horse," 



[a] Roaring, post. 35, 221. 



