2G6 THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE AGE OF THE HORSE. 
weeks, of each other ; and that the younger mouth should belong 
to the older horse is staggering. I think, however, you and I both 
agree on the difficulty there exists with certain mouths at certain 
times of the year, &c.” 
In considering the new rule of the Jockey Club, it behoves every 
member of the veterinary profession to apply to himself the respon- 
sibility that devolves upon him by such enactment : he may be 
called at any moment to decide a question of no less importance 
than whether the leading favorite for the Derby shall be allowed 
to start for the race ; and this, it should be recollected, would not 
only be a momentous question for the sporting world, but would 
be of vital consequence to the practitioner. It would be a ques- 
tion on which his knowledge must stand the test of subsequent 
trial. Should his opinion unhappily prove erroneous, the result is 
certain to be fatal to his future reputation and peace of mind. 
However pure may have been his motives, an error in such case 
is sure to be visited with suspicions of his honesty of intention. 
There are many influential members of the veterinary profession 
who hold the opinion that they cannot err upon a question of age 
— of course I allude to that of the young mouth ; but there are 
those, with less pretensions and more experience, who are familiar 
with both the rule and the exceptions, who have the candour to 
acknowledge the difficulty of giving a decided opinion upon every 
variety of case that presents itself for examination. 
Of your sporting readers, men to whom the unjust suspicions so 
often promulgated upon this subject were familiar, I would ask, 
whether the mouth of Foij-a-ballah, before starting for the St. 
Leger, had been at his examination as forward as the precocious 
one I send you 1 Whether there is not some doubt that the horse 
might have been prevented starting for the race 1 And yet, 
such is still the state of turf affairs, the possibility does exist 
of a qualified horse not being allowed to start for his race, although 
just now there is, perhaps, little chance of the converse happening 
so soon after the occurrences of the last year. 
As the rule now stands, the owner of any horse in a race may 
be called upon to have his horse’s mouth examined. He must sub- 
mit his horse to the ordeal of those appointed to decide his age, 
and must himself suffer his feelings to be hurt by the imputation 
which such an act necessarily engenders, and which is not so readily 
reconciled by the argument of tu quoque liability. 
In the year 1840, I ventured to predict that, unless means were 
adopted for the better identification of thorough-bred horses, the 
occurrences of the last racing season would some day happen ; 
in fact, t believe that the practice of them is of much older 
date. The exposure took place as the inevitable consequence 
