WARRANTING A HORSE SOUND. 31 



the guarantee is not an opinion of any one : it is a 

 statement of facts. If we ask a man what is cer- 

 tainly a plain question, namely, has your horse 

 ever been lame in your possession ? and he says 

 no, we have then to judge whether he knows 

 wdien a horse is lame or not ; for he may have 

 been so twenty times or always so, and the man 

 may not have perceived it; but if^veask whether 

 he ever called in professional aid to the animal, 

 we then fix him, for we can resort to the 

 veterinarian. 



So if we take a warranty of quiet in harness, 

 we only get an opinion asked, perhaps, on the 

 chance of a horse going quiet from what he has 

 lately done ; he may have kicked or run away 

 twenty times, and the man saves himself by say- 

 ing, he thought he had left it off, as he had gone 

 quietly latehj : but, have you ever seen or known 

 him to be vicious in harness ? brings on a direct 

 answer ; and we should then be justified in re- 

 turning the horse, if we choose to do so, however 

 quiet he might appear, if we found he had been 

 vicious ; that is, if the seller declared he had not : 

 and to return such a horse would be quite ju- 

 dicious, unless the buyer had great confidence in 

 himself, and choose to run the risk of a fresh 

 outbreak. 



It will be seen from what I say, that I in no 

 wav wish warranties to be made less strinj^ent 



