152 UNASKED ADVICE. 



undeniable ; so the mare was returned. I afterwards 

 accidentally learned that some time previously this 

 mare had had a fearful overreach (the mark was visible 

 enough), and that she had not used this foot, to speak 

 of, for I think three weeks. Naturally the foot had 

 decreased in size, but this did not affect her going, and I 

 saw her a year after the transaction going sound, and 

 heard that she had never done otherwise. Sometimes, 

 too, they will make rather ludicrous mistakes, and I 

 could give many instances of such, but that it is no wish 

 of mine to cry down the attainments of a body of men 

 allowed to be well-read and intelligent. I only mean to 

 point out the possibility of their being mistaken occa- 

 sionally in a casual examination of a horse who has done 

 work. Further, many have not studied sufficiently the 

 accidents and unsoundnesses peculiar to hunters. How- 

 ever, a professional opinion on a young horse is mostly 

 correct, as they have no past history. 



I have mentioned some few instances of unsoundness 

 that do not of necessity stop work, and I could mention 

 others of course, but that I should be trespassing on the 

 ground of the qualified practitioner. But, although it be 

 almost impossible to get anything but a young horse as 

 a hunter which is perfectly sound, the nearest possible 

 approach to that desirable state should always be sought ; 

 and, on the other hand, if ingenuous youth obtains a 

 hunter who carries him well, and is fast, bold, and clever, 

 he must not be too much disgusted on discovering — 

 probably through the agency of some " good- 

 natured friend ^^ — that the animal has some, perhaps 

 latent, peculiarity which entitles him to the undignified 

 appellation of " Screw.^^ 



