The Report of the Royal Commission on Horse-Breeding. 301 
V. Hereditary Disease and Conformation. 
As I am not an expert, I shall say very little upon this 
head. The importance of rigorous veterinary examination is 
most conclusively proved by the evidence, and the advantage of 
the Commission making public a Schedule of Diseases held to be 
hereditary, and therefore disqualifying the stallion from winning 
a Queen's premium, is strongly advocated. I think any person 
reading the evidence carefully cannot fail to be struck by the 
reasonableness of the evidence given by the professional experts, 
and by their anxiety to subject their theoretical opinions as to 
the transmission of disease to the practical opinion of experi- 
ence. 36 
The evidence given by the practical men that soundness is a 
vital essential of success, and that any deviation from soundness 
is most woeful error, was, if anything, more emphatic than the 
evidence given by the professional experts. I give here the 
Schedule of Diseases ultimately agreed to : — 
Roaring-AYhistling. Ringbone. Navicular Disease. 
Cataract. Unsound Feet. SrAviN. 
I feel confident that this will be approved of very generally, 
and that it reduces to a minimum any risk of discontent or 
disappointment at our stallion shows in future. A competitor 
now knows exactly the questions his horse has to answer if sent 
to the veterinarians. 
A good deal of interesting evidence was given upon how 
far the responsibility of rejection should be shared by the 
judges. But I think the general feeling is that the veterinary 
surgeons must incur the responsibility of rejection — a responsi- 
bility they are quite prepared to incur ; the judges on their 
side incurring the whole responsibility of selection — i.e., a horse 
must not be rejected by the veterinaries for conformation or 
action. Curbs took up a great deal of our time and attention. 
To my mind, curbs, splints, aud weak feet, all of which were 
36 I cannot refrain from quoting; Professor Brown in this connection. He 
says (7) : — " I think it is fair that I should say officially that I am in the same 
position as the majority of persons in my profession in regard to the actual 
practical knowledge in the transmission of disease. The vast majority of us 
accept the mere statements that are made by persons who have had the 
opportunity of making direct observations.* (57) " I think it is obviously the 
case that there are very few men who could say positively, from their own 
experience, that the different diseases which are recognised as unsoundnesses 
are capable of being transmitted. The fact of being able to say so suggests a 
very critical mind and the continuance of observations over a great number of 
years for that particular purpose." 
