CHAPTER I I 



AMATEUR VETS 



" In the horse, as in the man, all diseases are 

 easier to cure at the start, than after they have 

 become chronic, and have been wrongly diag- 

 nosed." So wrote Xenophon, with exquisite 

 humour, more than two thousand years ago, in 

 his admirable work on "The Art of Horseman- 

 ship." He continues: "The same care which 

 is oriven to horses' food and exercise — to make 

 his body grow strong — should also be devoted to 

 keeping his feet in condition." Could anything 

 be clearer ? 



We quote the above in order to emphasise 

 the dictionary meaning of the word amateur, 

 i.e. " One who loves and cultivates any art or 

 science, but does not follow the one preferred 

 as a profession." Again, we desire to impress 

 upon the reader that the cleverest of the ancients 

 who wrote upon veterinary had a practical know- 

 ledge of horses, although they did not use 

 sporting phrases that are constantly heard on 

 our race-courses or at our meets. Here is an- 

 other remark of Xenophon's : " I will describe 

 how a man, in buying a horse, is least likely 

 to be cheated. In the case of an unbroken 

 colt, of course, his frame is what you must test ; 



