42*2 
LAMENESS. 
uneven surfaces ; though at other times, upon soft ground or upon 
turf, he shall appear quite sound. This horse, we think, stands, 
in respect to the question of soundness, altogether in a different 
position from either the stone-in-the-foot or the tight-shoe case : here 
is disease — demonstrable disease ; and although it gives rise but 
occasional!} 7 to lameness, still, as lameness is at times the result, 
we hold that the horse ought to be accounted unsound. The spavin 
— in certain forms — affords another example of temporary or transi- 
tive lameness. A spavined horse shall come excessively lame out of 
his stable in the morning, but after having gone awhile and waxed 
warm shall no longer exhibit lameness, or even stiffness of his hock. 
In accordance with the laws of the judges, and with that of our late 
Professor (Coleman), such a horse being not “ less fit for present use 
or convenience,” being “ able to go through the same labour as before 
the defect or blemish,” able to perform the “ ordinary duties of an 
ordinary horse,” — such a horse, we repeat, must be pronounced, so 
long as he continues in this aptitude, to be sound ; whereas, how- 
ever much we may differ concerning other points, we believe all 
veterinarians will concur with us in opinion in declaring the occa- 
sionally lame spavined — if not the lame frushed — horse to be un- 
sound, notwithstanding his redeeming quality of becoming sound on 
work, and of continuing so to the end of that work. 
However strong we may feel ourselves in our position — -that a 
lame horse must be accounted unsound — the moment, as we ob- 
served before, we attempt the converse of it, viz., that every horse 
free from lameness is (as respects the question of lameness) to be 
held as sound, we change into a position most infirm and unte- 
nable. All sorts of diseases and defects stare us in the face, 
which, though not the immediate producers of lameness, too surely, 
in our minds, betoken its approach, waiting only for work or other 
exciting cause for its development; and with such betokenment 
before us, it is quite impossible we can, with any shew of reason 
or equity, pronounce the horse having them, notwithstanding he at 
the time goes free from lameness, to be virtually a sound horse. 
For, how can we in conscience call that horse sound who we know 
has that about him which will probably — nay, certainly — cause him 
to become lame the first long or heavy day’s work he is put to per- 
form ] As well might we call an apple or a pear sound which we 
know to be rotten at the core. And yet, strictly and literally 
speaking, the animal goes sound — is as sound in action or appear- 
ance as is the rotten apple or pear. In cases where so much diffi- 
culty, nay, impossibility, presents itself to the drawing of a dis- 
tinction between the two opposite and (as we may call them) ab- 
horrent states of soundness and unsoundness, it has struck us some 
good might arise from 
