THE HORSE 59 



vice on the general make and shape and suitability 

 of the animal to perform a certain class of work 

 without breaking down. 



Again, if the horse is passed as unsound because 

 of certain specified defects, the buyer who depends 

 solely upon the certificate must perforce reject it, 

 and may at the same time lose the very animal 

 which would have suited him. As stated earlier 

 in this book, a horse with a technical unsoundness 

 is not necessarily unfit for moderate, and even hard 

 work, and it is only by a knowledge of the cause 

 and character of the complaint that a fair estimate 

 can be made of the animal's value. A certificate 

 setting forth that the horse is unsound is, of course, 

 of inestimable value to the knowing man who is 

 not afraid, under certain conditions, to buy at a 

 reduced price. His knowledge may tell him that 

 the horse is equal to performing all his work quite 

 as well as a more expensive and technically sound 

 one. We intend to deal more explicitly with the 

 various common unsoundnesses, and to show the 

 values which must be placed upon them with 

 reference to the different classes of work: it is 

 hoped that to start with we have made clear to 

 the uninitiated that a sound horse is not neces- 

 sarily either a good or useful one, and have drawn. 



