420 WAERANTY 



It remains further to consider what diseases or defects do, and what do 

 not, constitute unsoundness. It will clear the ground if we deal with the 

 latter class first. 



Bog spavins are caused by sprain or hard work, and in the slighter 

 cases do not constitute unsoundness. If, however, they cause lameness, 

 the case is otherwise, though lameness alone amounts to unsoundness. 

 Spavins generally we shall have occasion to consider later. 



Broken knees, when the joint is not so injured as to impair its 

 action, do not amount to unsoundness. 



Capped hocks and elbows do not render a horse unsound, so long 

 as they do not cause lameness or interfere in any way with the action of 

 the joints. 



Contraction of the foot is not in itself a mark of unsoundness. It 

 is, however, frequently a result of unsoundness, as of navicular disease, and 

 will then amount to unsoundness. 



We may here also conveniently notice rings on the hoof. These are 

 sometimes regarded as marks of unsoundness, though they are not neces- 

 sarily so. 



When a horse suffers from a disorder the growth of the hoof becomes 

 less active, resulting in the formation of a groove, and then, when the 

 horse is turned out to grass, healthy growth is renewed, thus causing a 

 ring. Blisters, too, if used periodically, will cause a rapid growth of the 

 hoof for the time, and a series of rings will result as a consequence. 



Curby hocks are not unsoundness. In the celebrated case of Brown 

 V. Elkington (8 M. v. W. 132), Lord Abiuger remarked that "a defect in 

 the formation of the horse, which had not occasioned lameness at the time 

 of sale, though it mioht render the animal more liable to be lame at some 

 future time, was no breach of warranty ". This view was upheld by the 

 Court of Exchequer, which refused to grant a new trial. 



Cutting is not unsoundness, unless the horse is lame from it at the 

 time of sale. It is, in ffict, often the result of bad shoeing. 



Soreness of the joints arises from overwork and is not accounted 

 unsoundness. 



Splints do not amount in every case to unsoundness, but only when 

 they cause, or by their size, form, or position are likely to cause, lameness. 

 The leading case on splints is Margetson v. WHght, to which we have 

 already had occasion to refer. 



Thoroughpin in a moderate degree would not appear to amount to 

 unsoundness. As this, however, is a matter of opinion, it is unwise to 

 warrant a horse sound if suffering from this disease. 



Thrush, when only a consequence of mismanagement, and not caused 



