146 SPRINGTIME SURGERY 



pect him to know more about their animals than 

 they themselves do and regard with suspicion the 

 knowledge of a veterinarian who knows less 

 than they about controlling animals. 



An ever-present example of the above may be 

 seen in the regard most horsemen have for the 

 incompetent veterinary dentist who, though he 

 knows very little about a horse's teeth and their 

 abnormalities, from long practice is able to handle 

 the horse while dressing the teeth in a very skill- 

 ful manner, and to float the teeth quickly, without 

 the use of a speculum and with almost no resist- 

 ance from the patient. Contrast the effect of 

 such "smooth work" with the bunglesome method 

 of some competent though unpracticed veter- 

 inarian who has done little of this work and 

 whose final results when the work is completed 

 are infinitely better than the other, and one may 

 see at once how much horsemen appreciate 

 "horse sense" — "handiness." 



Nothing else is quite equal to ingenuity and 

 of course common sense in handling animals. 

 To some extent every case presents its own prob- 

 lem; but a few suggestions that are capable of 



