430 SOUNDNESS 



lameness, the hock should be most carefully examined, and there 

 should be a special warranty against it."^ 



Thrush. — There are various cases on record of actions on ac- 

 count of thrushes in horses and the decisions have been much at 

 variance, or perfectly contradictory Thrush has not been always 

 considered by legal men as unsoundness. We, however, decided- 

 ly so consider it ; as being a disease interfering and likely to inter- 

 fere with the usefulness of the horse. Thrush is inflammation of 

 the lower surface of the inner or sensible frog — and the secretion 

 or throwing out of pus — almost invariably accompanied by a 

 slight degree of tenderness of the frog itself, or of the heel a little 

 above it, and, if neglected, leading to diminution of the substance 

 of the frog, and separation of the horn from parts beneath, and 

 underrunning, and the production of fungus and canker, and, ul- 

 timately, a diseased state of the foot, destructive of the present, 

 and dangerous to the future usefulness of the horse, f 



WiNDGALLS. — There are few horses perfectly free from wind- 

 galls, but they do not interfere with the action of the fetlock, or 

 cause lameness, except when they are numerous or large. They 

 constitute unsoundness only when they cause lameness, or are so 

 large and numerous as to render it likely that they will cause it. 



Li the purchase of a horse the buyer usually receives, embod- 

 ied in the receipt, what is termed a warPv,anty. It should be 

 thus expressed : — 



" Received of A. B. forty pounds for a gray mare, warranted only five 

 years old, sound, free from vice, and quiet to ride or drive. 



"£40. " C. D." 



A receipt, including merely the word " warranted," extends on 

 ly to soundness, — " warranted sound" goes no farther ; the age, 

 freedom from vice, and quietness to ride and drive, should be es 

 pecially named. This warranty comprises every cause of unsound- 

 ness that can be detected, or that lurks in the constitution at the 

 time of sale, and to every vicious habit that the animal has 

 hitherto shown. To establish a breach of warranty, and to be 

 enabled to tender a return of the horse and recover the difference 

 of price, the purchaser must prove that it was unsound or vicious- 

 y disposed at the time of sale. In case of cough, the horse must 

 nave been heard to cough immediately after the purchase, or as 



* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — TJioroughpins, unless they are very slight, ought 

 to be considered in the same light as Bog Spavin, which they resemble in 

 their nature though not in situation. They indicate weakness of one of the 

 most important points in the body, though lameness rarely attends it. 



f Note by Mr. Spooner. — We cannot consider thrush as invariably un- 

 Boundness, as it may often be cured. In bad cases, of long standing, we are 

 justified in considering it as unsoundness. 



