580 
VETERINARY JURISPRUDENCE. 
‘In October last, plaintiff wrote to me at Armagh, where I reside, 
to say that he had a colt to be castrated, and requesting to know 
when I would be in Banbridge, and what would be my charge for the 
operation: my answer was, that I had no immediate business there, 
that my charge was a guinea for the operation, and that, if I went 
express, the charge would be £1 additional for the visit; but, if he 
sent the colt to Newry on a Monday or Thursday , which are my 
days of attendance there, I would be happy to operate on him, and 
give him the use of a stable free, where he might supply his own 
feeding and attendance; this was intended to save him the expense 
of livery and also that of my visit to Banbridge. For this act of 
kindness on my part, witness the ingratitude of the man!—On 
October 16th, the colt was brought to Newry in charge of plaintiffs 
servant; I there performed the operation in the same way as I 
have done it for the last twenty-five years, and with the same care 
and attention as if he were my own property : he remained in my 
stable until the 21st, in charge of plaintiff’s man, not in charge of 
any of my men, as he would have been, if at livery and under my 
care. On my return to Newry, on the 19th, I saw the colt, and 
found the wounds suppurating, which is the indication that danger 
is over from the effects of the operation: the colt was doing so well, 
that I ordered him to get exercise if the weather permitted, and 
that, if he continued to go on well, he might be taken home on 
Saturday. Although it is never necessary for me to see a horse 
a second time after castration, yet Mr. Kennett, my pupil, who 
happened to be in Newry at the time, saw the horse every day 
that he remained there, and allowed the man in charge of the colt 
to want for nothing. The colt went home on the sixth day after 
the operation, as is usual in my practice, without any unfavourable 
symptom whatever; he was lively, and looking well at the time he 
left my establishment: if he had been insured by me for £100, my 
liability was then at an end. The court, perhaps, is not aware 
of the fact, that castration is considered so dangerous, that it is 
common to insure horses under the operation, on payment of five 
per cent, on the value of the animal to the operator [here is the 
form of docket]; this insurance lasts only one week, when the 
underwriter’s liability is at an end.—On October 23d, the Monday 
after the operation, I received in Dundalk the first intimation that 
the colt was ill; I instantly sent an order to Newry for my assist¬ 
ant to proceed to Banbridge, without a moment’s delay, and do 
what he could for the colt: he did so, but the colt died that night. 
If he had not gone on receiving my order, there would be some 
semblance of neglect, and a faint excuse for this action. I heard 
nothing more of the matter till after my account was furnished; 
and in the January fair of Banbridge, when I called for payment, 
