INTEODUCTION. xlvii 



as it had been warranted to him ; the witness asked him if 

 he was satisfied the horse went sound ; he replied, " Per- 

 fectly so : " he then said he was justified. On cross- 

 examination, the witness said, "I pointed out a slight 

 disease in the sole, but thought he would have been 

 justified in warranting him ; if I had taken the precaution 

 to see him go, things might have been different." So that 

 a veterinary surgeon finding that a horse has a disease in 

 the sole, and without taking the precaution to see him go, 

 tells the owner he is justified in warranting. Now the use 

 of the word justified shows that neither of the parties fully 

 knew the amount of liability incurred by giving a warranty, 

 and it seems as if they had considered it rather an affair of 

 conscience or honour than of legal responsibility. 



That the veterinary profession feel the greatest difiiculty Difficulties 

 in dealing with the question of unsoundness when called ^gt^g^nar"^ 

 upon for a certificate on that point, will appear from part profession. 

 of an article on " Soundness as opposed to Lameness," by 

 Mr. Percival, M.R.C.S., editor of the Veterinarian ; he 

 writes, " Reluctantly as we enter on this difficult and 

 much debated question, we feel it our duty to make some 

 observations on the subject, though these observations will 

 be rather of a general than of a particular nature, and 

 have especial reference to soundness, regarded as the 

 converse of, or opposite, state to lameness. No person buys 

 or sells a horse without feeling some concern as to the 

 soundness of the animal ; the purchaser is apprehensive 

 lest his new horse should from any cause turn out unser- 

 viceable or unequal to that, for the performance of which 

 he has bought him ; the vendor is apprehensive, either lest 

 the animal, in other hands, should not prove that sound 

 and effective servant he conceived or represented him to be, 

 or lest some unrepresented or concealed fault or defect he is 

 aware the animal possesses may now, in his new master's 

 hands, be brought to light." 



"Soundness, as opposed to actual or decided lameness 

 (or as synonymous with good health), is a state too well 

 understood to need any definition or description; when 



