62 The Care of Animals 



UNSOUNDNESS IN HORSES 



A horse is considered practically sound when it 

 possesses no disease, deformity or vice that will in- 

 terfere with its general or special usefulness. Soundness 

 is important, not only to those who deal in horses, but 

 to those who raise and own them, because its sound- 

 ness, together with the general appearance of the animal, 

 indicates its relative commercial value. A person who 

 contemplates purchasing a horse, if he is not thoroughly 

 familiar with the subject, will usually find it a matter of 

 economy to employ an expert to assist in the selection, 

 or he will purchase of some well-known dealer whose 

 judgment and whose "word" are worthy of dependence. 

 The ordinary individual is likely to pride himself 

 upon his ability to judge horses and to determine their 

 soundness or unsoundness; and yet there is probably 

 no one experience in which individuals are more likely 

 to be deceived than in this. Horse-dealers of wide ex- 

 perience usually make allowances in their judgment of 

 a horse for defects which cannot be determined by an 

 ordinary examination, but are likely to show themselves 

 only after a thorough acquaintance with the animal. As 

 a general thing, the purchaser sees a horse at its very 

 best, as regards appearance, condition, speed and free- 

 dom from defects and vices, and should take this into 

 account in estimating the value of the animal. In 

 examining animals as to their soundness, experienced 

 judges do not allow themselves to be misled, or their 

 attention to be distracted from any part of the animal, 

 either by the owner or by bystanders. An excellent 



