8 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



been introduced relative to the age of the 

 Horse by his mouth ; where, after all the obser- 

 vations on the subject, it becomes an acknow- 

 ledged fact by every writer, each sign is 

 doubtful, and Uable to deception, and the 

 various arts and designs of the dealers, who, 

 by engraving and burning artificial marks in 

 some teeth, and totally extracting others, render 

 the Horse of any seeming age, most applicable 

 to their purpose. 



And these faults cannot be easily discovered 

 but by grooms or judges, who are in the con- 

 stant habit and practice of making such re- 

 marks and observations ; nor is there any 

 matter relative to a Horse, requiring a nicer 

 judgment, than to ascertain to a certainty the 

 age by his teeth only, having absolutely seen 

 two men of abilities and experience, on the 

 opposite sides of a horse's mouth, at the same 

 time declare him of different ages ; when, by 

 exchanging sides, each changed his opinion, 

 and the horse proved by the common rule, to 

 be coming a year older on one side than the 

 other. 



But, as the age of the horse is so distinctly 

 abstracted from, and unconnected with, the 

 description of disease which becomes more 

 immediately the subject of discussion ; 1 shall 

 leave the former to the subtle decision of the 

 stable disputants, to whose province it may be 

 said to belong, and whom it more materially 

 concerns. 



THE HISTORY OF FARRIERY. 



The art and profession of the Farrier, which 

 liave comprehended, from the earliest event to 

 the present period, the Medical and Surgical 

 Care of the Horse, as well as that of manu- 

 facturing arid fitting him with shoes. 



These men, as labourers of iron, were origi- 



nally termed " ferriers," or •* farriers, from the 

 Latin •woTdferrum, iron ; and their craft " fer- 

 riery ; which word has since, either by a very 

 usual corruption or improvement of ]angua,ge, 

 been changed to " farriery." This term re- 

 mains yet in general use, to its fullest extent, 

 and not inaptly ; since, notwithstanding the 

 laudable attempts of many enlightened men, 

 at various periods, our blacksmiths form a very 

 large majority of horse surgeons and physi- 

 cians. Nor is such defect peculiar to this 

 country, but it prevails in an equal degree 

 throughout Europe ; even in Italy and France 

 — countries which preceded us many centuries 

 in Veterinary science, and from which indeed 

 we have derived its elements. 



On the establishment of a College, about 

 forty years since, for the instruction of pupils in 

 animal medicine and surgery, under a French 

 professor (Saintbel), we imported also from 

 France the term veterinary, and the veterinary 

 art has since been substituted for farriery by 

 practitioners of liberal education. The sup- 

 posed derivation of the term veterinary is 

 from the participle vectum, of the Latin verb 

 veho, to carry ; quasi, vecterinary, thence 

 applied to the care of animals which carry, or 

 beasts of burden. The change to veterinary 

 was easy, and in course ; and if, according to 

 the opinions of some, we ought to revert to the 

 radical orthography, and write f err iery instead 

 of farriery : a parity of reasoning, and desire 

 of close adherence to the root, would induce 

 us to retain the c, and pronounce the word 

 vecterinary. It is easy to conceive what re- 

 volutions in language such attempts would 

 occasion if generally put in practice ; but by 

 no means easy to discover the utility of a 

 capricious and partial adoption of such change* 

 in particular words. 



