58 THE HOESE 



examination is, comparatively speaking, nil^ un- 

 less the would-be buyer is sufficiently up in 

 veterinary matters to be able to put an exact 

 value on the information gained, in which case 

 he would probably not require the services of a 

 veterinary surgeon at all. 



Then, again, a horse may be passed as absolutely 

 sound, and may be so at the time, yet he may have 

 hocks so badly shaped that it is obvious to the 

 initiated that he will be likely to spring a curb if 

 hunted, or even if put to certain sorts of carting 

 work. Or he may have the combination of a 

 heavy body, and hoofs which almost certainly 

 suggest laminitis ; he may even have only recently 

 come up from a long run at grass, necessitated by 

 this or some other disease, yet the veterinary sur- 

 geon can only say that the horse, as brought be- 

 fore him, is sound. It is not his duty to take a 

 pessimistic view, to point out weak points of con- 

 formation, or to prognosticate possible disaster in 

 the future. Thus we reiterate that the value of 

 a veterinary certificate of soundness is small com- 

 pared to the value of certain points of conforma- 

 tion in the horse, and that to have the animal 

 passed as sound does not exempt the buyer from 

 the necessity of exercising or obtaining skilled ad- 



