VETERINARY JURISPRUDENCE. 
185 
COURT OF QUEEN’S BENCH, Westminster, Feb. 2. 
(Sittings at Nisi Prius, before Mr. Justice Blackburn and 
Common Juries.) 
METCALFE V. LAWRENCE. 
Mr. O'Malley, Q.C., and Mr. D. D. K cane appeared for the plain¬ 
tiff; and Mr. Serjeant Ballantine and Mr. D. A. Freeman for the 
defendant. 
The plaintiff in this action was Mr. Metcalfe, the barrister, and he 
brought the present action against the defendant Lawrence, a livery- 
stablekeeper at Brighton, to recover damages for a breach of warranty 
of a horse. The defendant denied that he had given the warranty, and 
also alleged that the horse was sound. 
It appeared that on the 2d of November last, being the first day of 
Michaelmas Term, the plaintiff was out with the foxhounds on the 
South Downs, near Brighton, and saw the defendant riding a handsome 
horse. He asked the defendant whether the horse was in the market, 
and was told that it was, that it belonged to a foreign gentleman, and 
that the price was £100. The plaintiff wished to be allowed to try the 
horse, which he did on the Sunday following, and liked it so much that 
he said he would buy it if it passed the veterinary surgeon. The plain¬ 
tiff had previously asked if the horse was sound, and quiet to ride, and 
told the defendant that he wanted it for his wife to ride, and, being sa¬ 
tisfied on this point by the defendant’s assurances, he agreed to have 
the horse. Having business in town which required his attendance, he 
left a cheque with Mrs. Metcalfe, and that lady having also seen the 
horse, and being assured by the defendant that it was a quiet animal 
and suitable for a lady to ride, she paid him the cheque, and took the 
receipt. The horse was then fetched away, and taken to Silverthorne’s 
stables. It there soon showed evident signs of bad temper, and when 
the plaintiff began to ride it he discovered that it was so vicious as to 
be quite useless. It sometimes would not stir for a quarter of an hour, 
though it would always go home readily enough ; it kicked and reared 
up on its hind legs, so as to be in danger of falling backwards. The 
plaintiff, after keeping the horse about three weeks, called upon the 
defendant to take it back, and repay the money. The defendant at first 
held out some hope that he would do so, but, eventually, he refused ; 
and the plaintiff, after giving the defendant notice, had the horse put 
up for sale at Tattersall’s, where it fetched only £32 odd, and brought 
the present action to recover the difference and the keep. 
Mrs. Metcalfe was examined, and confirmed her husband’s evidence 
as to the warranty; and t( Tom,” the groom, who had had charge of 
the horse at Silverthorne’s, proved his vicious qualities, and said he had 
found it necessary to knock the horse over the head between the ears, 
when it reared, to keep it down. 
The defendant was called, and positively swore that he had not given any 
warranty; that he had never even said the horse was quiet, though he 
would have said so had he been asked ; and that, when asked whether 
the horse would suit a lady to ride, he said he could not answer for 
that, as it had never had a side-saddle on. It was suggested that the 
rearing was occasioned by Tom’s ill treatment in knocking the animal 
over the head, and that such treatment was enough to spoil the best 
horse in the world. The defendant admitted that what he told the 
