WARRANTY OF HORSES. 
20 7 
was asked on the case of a mare that had been pronounced 
to be unsound on account of a small wart on one of her eye- 
lids. My answer was, to remove it, which was done at once 
with a stroke of the scalpel. 
After all that I have said, although I wish to avoid any 
appearance of dictation in the matter, it will certainly be 
expected that I should not withhold my own opinion on the 
question of what constitutes unsoundness. In a word, then, 
1 consider that a horse ought only to he declared unsound when 
he has about him some disease that may , in spite of ordinary care , 
lessen either his natural value or usefulness . Trivial affections 
easily removable, and peculiarities of conformation can scarcely 
be comprehended in such a definition, and here it is that I 
draw the line of demarcation. With this view the purchaser 
can scarcely fail to be satisfied, because it is in reality more 
comprehensive than any other I am acquainted with, whilst 
it affords to the seller a protection from those paltry objec- 
tions brought forward, sometimes perhaps, from a mistaken 
fear, but more often as an excuse for repudiating a bargain 
or to get back a portion of the price paid for the animal. 
And unless some such limitation be observed the whole 
question of soundness, I repeat, is reduced to an absurdity ; 
for, judged by the practice of our law courts, as I have 
endeavoured to show, it is hardly possible to say when a 
horse is to be considered sound, or whether or not such a 
thing as a sound horse is really in existence at all. The 
spirit and meaning of the word is sacrificed to the mere hair- 
splitting of the lawyer, and a warranty becomes a mockery 
and a snare, for a man may consider himself at liberty to 
repudiate his bargain on the most paltry pretence, and, in 
brief, there is no security for the breeder or seller, excepting, 
of course, in the honour of the party with whom he may 
deal. 
Another, and perhaps the most important evil of all, still 
remains to be noticed. There can be no doubt that the 
breed of what are called “ half-bred” horses — hunters, car- 
riage horses, and hacks — has considerably deteriorated of 
late, not only in quality, but also in quantity. Even in this 
particular district there are not half the number of such 
horses bred that were produced even within my recollection 
of the county. In estimating the causes of this decline — a 
matter that is, even in a national point of view, deeply to be 
regretted — it is impossible to pass over this condition of the 
law of which I am complaining. The man who has been 
injured and annoyed quits the occupation in disgust. Natu- 
rally enough the loose state of the law is pretty well known 
