PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR. 



Progeess in veterinary science implies advance in investigation 

 and the publication of books setting forth the results of that advance. 

 Numerous volumes of veterinary literature have of late years appeared 

 from the pens of both French and German writers ; but in English 

 there has been very little produced upon the subject; and English- 

 speaking teachers, practitioners, and students constantly find themselves 

 compelled to look to foreign writers for instruction on points connected 

 with their vocation. 



In no branch of this literature has this deficiency been more seri- 

 ously felt than in that which studies the horse exclusively from the 

 exterior, considerino; his external form and characters with relation to 

 his mechanical aptitude and his commercial value. Hence I was in- 

 duced to fill this vacancy by the translation of Goubaux and Barrier's 

 ** Exterior of the Horse." 



In selecting this book, the French veterinary text-book par excel- 

 lence, I was influenced no less by the reputation and standing of its 

 authors than by the originality, exactness, and fulness of its treatment 

 of the subject. 



The difficulty of such an undertaking can be fully appreciated only 

 through actual experience. I have endeavored as far as possible to 

 avoid the use of French terms. In some instances, however, it was 

 impossible to find English terms that w^ould convey the exact mean- 

 ing of the terms of the original text. Wherever I have retained the 

 foreign terms, it has been done solely for the sake of brevity and 

 simplicity. 



No pains have been spared to make this one of the most complete 

 books of its kind. The numerous plates and figures thoroughly elu- 

 cidate the more difficult points of the text ; and references are made to 

 all the best French, German, and Italian treatises on the veterinary 

 science. One of my special aims has been to adapt this book to the 

 English-speaking reader. It contains valuable information for the 

 practitioner, the student, the horseman, and the breeder. 



V 



