PROFESSIONAL DEPRESSION. 
291 
being instituted for the purpose of insuring the lives of horses, in 
some such manner as human lives have, for very many years, be- 
come objects of insurance ; and though there do not exist the same 
cogent reasons for insuring the life of a horse as that of a human 
being, still, as an article of considerable commercial value while 
alive, and of comparatively little or no value when dead, does a 
horse fairly present himself as a subject for insurance. The diffi- 
culties in the way of drawing up a plan of procedure that would be 
found to work well in practice, we feel and know to be great — not, 
however, in our opinion, insurmountably great ; and therefore it is 
that, for our own part, considering what strange and wonderful 
things are, in these our days, achieved, we do not despair of one 
day seeing these difficulties overcome, and a HORSE INSURANCE 
Office established. 
And though we cannot confidently put forth a horse insurance 
as a remedy for the evils of which we have been complaining, yet 
do we opine that a laudable amount of good would be done by such 
a procedure — were it general among us — both to veterinary sur- 
geons and to horses. Were all — or all the valuable — horses in a 
district insured, the insurance office would take care that none 
should die for want of efficient medical aid ; and, probably, the 
surest way of commanding this would be for the insurance esta- 
blishments to employ veterinary surgeons as their agents. This 
might occasion some reduction of fees and charges, but it would 
beget a more general attendance ; and the question is, whether one 
would not greatly outbalance the other. 
There is something imitative of this in the practice, which ve- 
terinary surgeons long have had, or rather used to have, in the cases 
of coach establishments, breweries, &c., of shoeing and attending 
medically at so much per head per annum. And this contract plan 
of doing business might, we think, be with advantage carried much 
farther than it at present is. One great reason why persons do 
not call in veterinary surgeons to attend their sick and lame horses 
is, that they are apprehensive about the expense — about what the 
“ doctor’s bill” is likely to amount to. Now, if they entered into 
any sort of contract, they would at once know the limit of their 
expense, and take care that their nags should have all requisite 
attendance. 
