TN'AKItANTY.] 



^rODERN VETEHINART PRACTICE. 



[WAUHANTT. 



The purclinsor, possibly, may like the horso, p[unrd, nnd prevents him from bo closel 



notwithstaiuliiiij^ his discovered defect, and ho 

 mar retain and hrin;:; his action for tho do- 



Iv exam- 



inin<» tho horse* na ho otherwiMo would havo 

 done; but if ho buys a blind horse, thinlunfj 



preciation in vahie on account of the unsound- ' him to be sound, and without a warranty ho 

 ness. Few, howi'ver, will do this, because tho . has no remedy. Tho law supposes every ono 

 retention of the horso will cause a suspicion ' to exercise common circumspection and com- 

 tliat the defect was of no threat consequence, mon sense., 



and will give rise to much cavil about tho 

 amount of damaLres ; and, after all, very slight 

 damages will probably be obtained. 



Upon this point Lord Eldon says — " I take 

 it to be clear law, that if a person purchases a 

 horse that is wr.rranted, and it afterwards turns 



A man should have a more perfect know 

 ledge of horses than falls to the lot of most, 

 and a perfect knowledge of tho vendor too, 

 who ventures to purchase one without a 

 warranty. 



If a person buys a horso warranted sound. 



out that the horse was unsound at the time of and discovering no defect in him, and relying 

 the warranty, the buyer may, if he pleases, ] on the warranty, resells him, and tho unsound- 

 keep tho horse, and bring iin action on the | ness is discovered by the second purchaser, and 

 warranty, in which he will havo a right to the horse returned to tho first purchaser, or 



recover the difierence between the value of a 

 sound horse and one with such defects as ex- 

 isted at the time of warranty, or he may return 

 the horse, and bring an action to return the 

 full money paid ; but, in the latter case, the 

 seller has a right to expect that the horse 

 shall be returned to him in the same state in 

 which he was when sold, and not by any means 

 diminished in value; for, if a person keeps a 

 warranted article for any length of time after 

 discovering its defects, and, when he returns it, 

 it is in a worse state than it would have been 

 if returned immediately after such a discovery, 

 I think the party can have no defence to an 

 action for the price of the animal on the ground 

 of non-compliance with the warranty, but must 

 be left to his action on the warranty to recover 

 the difference in the value of the article war- 

 ranted, and its value when sold." 



Where there is no warranty an action may 

 be brought on the ground of fraud ; but this is 

 very difficult to be maintained, and few pos- 

 sibly will hazard it. It will be necessary to 

 prove that the dealer knew the defect, and that 

 the purchaser was imposed upon by his false 

 representation ; and that, too, in a case in 

 which a person of ordinary circumspection 

 might have been similarly deceived. If the 

 defect was evident to every eye, the purchaser 

 has no remedy. He should have taken more 

 care. If, however, a warranty was given, it 

 extends to all unsoundness, palpable or con- 

 cealed. Although a person should ignorantly 

 or carelessly buy a blind horse, warranted 

 sound, he may return it. The warranty is his 



an action commenced against him, he has his 

 claim on the first seller, and may demand of 

 him not only the price of the animal, or the 

 difference in value, but every expense that 

 may have been incurred. 



Eeal exchanges, whether of one horse for 

 another, or a sum of money being paid in 

 addition by one of the parties, stand on the 

 same ground as simple sales. If there is a 

 warranty on either side, and that is broken, 

 the exchange is vitiated ; and if there bo no 

 warranty, deceit must be proved. 



The trial of horses on sale is a very intricate 

 one; and often leads to doubts and disputes. 

 It is well known that a horse from a dealer's 

 stable is seldom or ever fit for hard work 

 until he has undergone some preparation and 

 training. It is right that the purchaser should 

 have a trial of him, but he should try him in a 

 fair way ; that is, in a way consistent with the 

 state in which the animal is. If a horse from 

 a dealer's stable is galloped far and fast, it 

 is probable that he will soon show distress ; 

 and if 1)0 is pushed farther, inflammation and 

 death may ensue. The dealer rarely gets com- 

 pensated for this ; and if it should occur soon 

 after the sale, the animal is returned, if alive, or 

 an action is brought for its price. When acci- 

 dents have arisen in the fair trial of a horse, 

 the decisions of the courts of law have been 

 strangely contradictory ; and, indeed, it is often 

 difficult to determine whether the fault rests 

 with the horse or the rider. If the horse 

 is retained after the specified time of trial, he 

 is supposed to be sold, with all his faults. 



165 



