HORSE WARRANTY. 
297 
of the muscles, depending upon a morbid state of the nervous sys¬ 
tem. It is not general stiffness, but the muscles of the neck, back, 
and loins are more particularly affected. It comes on gradually; 
is more common to old than young horses; it prevents the 
animal from bending his head. The first symptom is a negli¬ 
gence or carelessness, as it were, of drinking, or eating food 
from off the ground ; and this arises from the general stiffness with 
which the system is affected : when coming out of the stall, he 
steps backward instead of turning round: in general he is a 
week or ten days labouring under the disease before he is so stiff 
as to be prevented from bending his head. The most rapid cases 
he has seen might have been one or two days ; but in these 
cases the disease was acute tetanus, and not chords. During 
the disease, he may at times get down his head by an effort, 
especially when warm after travelling. Never saw a horse ap¬ 
parently well at night, and on the following morning so affected 
with chords, as to be unable to bend his head to drink. It 
would be a week or two before a horse could be discovered to be 
labouring under this disease by a farmer or farm servant. Rid¬ 
ing a horse fast for an hour, and at the end of his journey, when 
warm, allowing him to drink cold water, and then to stand exposed 
to the cold air, would most likely produce acute founder; but 
might be the cause of other diseases, and, among the rest, 
chords. The disease is rare: never saw one die if properly 
treated ; and what he recommends is gentle purgatives, opening 
diet, with comfortable clothing. They generally recover in six 
or eight weeks; but has known the disease continue for life. 
Is not aware that this disease has a different name than chords 
or chronic tetanus in any part of Scotland ; but chords is some¬ 
times applied to farcy-weeds, &c. Blaine’s is a work of merit, 
and quite standard; White is of ordinary merit; and Clater’s 
of no merit whatever.” 
Few remarks are necessary; your readers will best draw their 
own conclusions after a perusal. A few strictures on the evi¬ 
dence, however, I can hardly resist making. As to the justice 
of the sheriff’s decision, no one can question it. Low and Wat¬ 
son both swore that the horse was affected with chords within 
twenty-four hours of the sale ; and Mr. Dick affirms that chords 
is a chronic disease, and is some considerable time before its 
symptoms are apparent. It is doubtful, however, whether the 
horse in question laboured under chords at all. Several witnesses 
say that the brain seemed to be affected, the horse occasionally 
staggering. Now, I recollect a similar case at the College dur¬ 
ing my pupilage there, of a stout chesnut horse being affected 
with what may be described as chronic staggers; and I recollect 
seeing him morning after morning being taken out to grass for 
several successive weeks, with much inclination to eat, without the 
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