VETERINARY JURISPRUDENCE. 
2 77 
allerton fair, and would gladly have bought it had it been in 
quite good enough condition — quite fat enough for the London 
market. He made the defendant an offer for it, if he would 
keep it for a few days, but he did not accept it; and before 
any arrangement could be made, the plaintiff bought it. He 
saw no symptoms of spavin or ringbones. He so liked the 
horse that he bought it of the defendant at Marlborough, 
after it had come in the latter’s possession at Newark. Then, 
also, it had not the disease mentioned. It subsequently 
caught cold, however, and had an attack of inflammation, 
which nearly proved fatal. It recovered, however, but became 
a confirmed roarer, and was sold as .a carriage horse to Mr. 
Crawshay, of Caversham Park. 
Mr. Macaulay then proved that the present owner had been 
asked to produce the animal for the inspection of the jury, but 
had refused, and he called his groom, who had been subpoenaed 
to attend. He deposed that the horse was at present running 
with another in a carriage, and was not at all lame. In fact, he 
was perfectly sound, with the exception that he was a roarer. 
Witness knew what spavin and ringbones were, and he could 
confidently say that the horse showed traces of neither disease. 
Mr. Kent , of Bristol, a veterinary surgeon of great expe- 
rience, and one or two other professional men who had ex- 
amined the horse, since he had been sold by Mr. Collins, gave 
evidence contradicting Professor Spooner and the witnesses 
on the plaintiff’s side, in a most direct and positive manner. 
They found but a slight trace of some temporary injury, and 
not the slightest proofs of either spavin or ringbones. Mr. 
Kent produced some bones exhibiting the results of the two 
diseases, and contrasted them with other bones in a natural 
state. He showed that what was known as ringbones, con- 
sisted of a deposition of bony matter in what was naturally 
a hollow. This deposition having taken place could never 
be removed, and the animal became incurably lame. It 
might always be readily discovered, as if no concavity could 
be discovered by the touch, the disease existed. In the 
present case he had carefully examined the animal, and found 
the hollow to exist in a perfectly natural state. 
His lordship , in summing up the evidence, confessed that he 
was altogether unable to reconcile evidence so contradictory. 
The jury retired to consider their verdict shortly after eight, 
but after having been locked up for upwards of two hours, it 
was found they were utterly unable to agree, and they were in 
consequence discharged without a verdict being arrived at. 
xxvi i. 
37 
