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HOUSE WAllRANTY.—A RIG. 
By R. 11. Dyer, M.R.C.V.S., AVaterfurcl. 
Sir, —Your correspondent A.requests to ascertain if 
any legal decision has taken place upon the above subject; 
if soj to give the same with references. All 1 can say is, I 
have searched every work upon my shelves and am unable 
to find any such case. 
Perhaps a few remarks upon the wording of the form of 
warranty received by the purchaser may not be out of place. 
A. sold to B. a horse with the following warranty:— 
B—. Nov. o, 18G2. 
“ Received of Mr. B. L—, for a brown horse, three years 
old, warranted sound.^^ 
Signed A. 
This is a copy of the form of warrant}". Now let us con¬ 
sider how far that warranty hss been invalidated. Before 
we do so, it will be necessary to understand what we mean 
by the word Jiorse.^’ In racing language, and in hunting 
phraseology, a horse means an entire animal. This meaning 
is accepted by all horse people; if, therefore, a horse is to be 
considered sound, he should be entire. But it has been the 
custom for centuries to emasculate animals for the purpose 
of rendering them more subservient to the uses of man—his 
master; and it has been found convenient to do this, and to 
consider an animal so operated upon as a sound one, as re¬ 
gards this part of his economy. To decide the question as 
to whether a ^^Rig^^ is an unsound animal or not, we may 
feel a difficulty, for this reason, it may be a matter of opinion 
with one even learned in the law’, to hold that a *MIig^^ is an 
unsound horse, and, on the other hand, it may be argued, he is- 
sound. I think it is just one of those cases where diversity 
of opinions will be found. I am of opinion the wording 
of the warranty is defective, and that the purchaser has no 
right to comi)lain. It will be argued, I have no doubt, that 
a Rig is not a horse in one sense of the term; at the same time 
it must be acknowledged that he approaches nearer to what 
a perfect horse should be than a gelding. The warranty 
should have stated the horse or animal was a gelding; then, 
and then only, would the purchaser have made out a case for 
decision; for the horse is a horse in the ordinary acceptation 
of the word, and in the ordinary mode of speaking by most 
