RELATIVE UNSOUXDXESS. 31 



" marked ; " for it is quite possible for an animal to fall 

 down in the middle of a road, from no fault of his own. 

 If we had positive proof that the injury was not caused 

 by a fall, we might regard it with less suspicion, than we 

 might otherwise do ; for it is incontestable that a horse 

 which has once been " down," is more liable to stumble, 

 than one whose knees have never come in contact with 

 the hard road. Although it would be idle to attempt to 

 gainsay the fact, that a blow inflicted on an important 

 joint, like the knee, has a great tendency to be followed 

 by weakness of the structures of the part ; still, if after an 

 exhaustive trial, we can detect no indication of the exis- 

 tence of such weakness, or of any other inability, it would 

 be manifestly unfair to reject a horse that had suffered 

 from an injury which might have had, but which did not 

 have, an injurious result. I need hardly say, that a 

 veterinary surgeon can scarcely be too careful about 

 giving a certificate of soundness for a horse with broken 

 knees : at the same time, he should not attempt to shield 

 himself, at the expense of the owner, from the possibility 

 of making a mistake. Practically speaking, we shall 

 find that only the slighter cases of " broken knees " 

 should be passed. Both Dr. Fleming and Professor 

 Williams ao:ree that the mere fact of a horse havins: 

 blemished knees, is not suf&cient to have him condemned 

 as unsound. 



Brushing. — See " Cutting." 



