PART VII 



CHAPTER XXV 



SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 



One of Punclis cleverest jokes was — "Advice to 

 people about to be married. Dont." My advice 

 to those about to buy a horse, and questioning 

 whether to have it passed first by a good vet, is 

 —Do. 



It takes a first-rate amateur vet to pass a horse, 

 and implies as much practical knowledge as the 

 average vet himself possesses. Pay a guinea 

 cheerfully for a veterinary examination, only stipu- 

 lating that in case the horse is not passed the 

 vendor pays the vet, and, in case it is passed 

 sound, the new purchaser pays. 



From the above it will be gleaned that high- 

 priced horses are, as a rule, subject to a veterinary 

 surgeon's examination. It relieves the purchaser 

 from all reasonable hazards, and enables him to 

 return them in case the warranty is proved to be 

 given without good reason ; but the horse must 

 be returned at once. 



In the case of quite young horses, especially 

 those bred from healthy sires and dams, those 

 unbroken I particularly allude to, the risk of 

 purchase without a vet's certificate of soundness 

 is of course less. 



