302 GRIEVANCES OF THE VETERINARY PROFESSION. 
course, I desired him to be destroyed. The history of the case 
was this :—He had been under the care of a neighbouring farrier 
of some repute, who never bled him from the feet, or poulticed 
him, or used any topical application whatever ; but about three 
months after the horse was first taken ill, he discovered that he 
was lame in the feet, and recommended him to be turned out. 
The owner told me the horse was worth at least £30 prior to his 
illness, and his loss was, consequently, between £40 and £50; 
yet, notwithstanding this, he still employs the same man. 
This farrier was asked by a gentleman, a little time since, the 
nature of a splent: his answer was, “that ’twas a rottenness of 
the bone—that it went dean to the marrow —that firing was the 
only thing to kill it.” But of all classes of men that have the 
combinations of ignorance and presumption in the greatest de¬ 
gree, I think grooms possess these qualifications the most: 
there are many exceptions, no doubt; but such I believe is the 
usual fact. A friend of mine, a tradesman, was shewn round a 
gentleman’s stud by his head groom, who pointed out a very 
fine horse as being u stitched in his wind.” The tradesman said 
he often heard of horses being broken winded, and asked him 
what was the cause? The groom replied, “ 'Tis the bladder, sir: 
the wind gets to the bladder , and this breaks the windy My 
friend said he could scarcely refrain from laughing ; for though 
he knew nothing of horses, he knew that the bladder had 
nothing to do with the wind. This groom has the unlimited 
confidence of his master, and the sole care of a valuable stud, 
whether in sickness or in health. I have always found that 
those gentlemen who knew most about horses and their diseases, 
were the best friends of veterinary surgeons, the least confident 
in their own knowledge, and the most scrupulous of their groom’s 
acquirements. The knowledge they possess serves as a light to 
shew them how much more there is to learn, and thus they are 
more disposed to foster talent and encourage worth. Almost 
every veterinary surgeon is sure to have a host of enemies, who, 
having the opportunity of circulating slander in circles where he 
does not mix, are withheld by no scruples of conscience or honour; 
and thus propagate falsehoods which too many in higher situa¬ 
tions are often disposed to credit, but which the practitioner is 
afforded no opportunity of contradicting. Then again, too, the 
very nature of his practice conjures him up foes: he examines a 
horse, finds him unsound, and the dealer who was selling him 
becomes his bitter enemy ; or, if the vender is a gentleman, he 
feels rather offended with the practitioner. The following is a 
recent fact:—A horse-dealer and livery stable-keeper had his 
horses shod at the forge of a veterinary surgeon. A neighbour- 
