708 
VETERINARY JURISPRUDENCE. 
but the circumstance of its being too good for his work. Even with 
the bad character it had received, there were gentlemen who would 
willingly have given eighty guineas for it at Aldridge’s, if they had 
known of the sale. It was there sold without notice ; the defendant 
was denied any opportunity of inspection previous to the sale ; and 
notwithstanding that every inquiry had been made he had been unable 
to ascertain what had become of the horse. There was a strong sus¬ 
picion of “ smuggling” after it had left Mr. Palmer’s possession, for 
even the letter announcing that the horse had been sent to Aldridge’s 
must have been posted after Strange had returned from the sale. 
Mr. Henry Cannon , the defendant, on being sworn, said he bought 
the horse for thirty-three guineas, at Crowmarsh fair, in August, 
1869. It was then four years old. He rode it from Crowmarsh to 
Didcot, where it was sent by rail to Chippenham. He rode it home 
from Chippenham the same night, and next day put it to collar 
work on his farm. It was so quiet that a boy at 2s. a week used to 
lead it. It was remarkably quiet in stable, and in harness it was 
one of the straightest horses that he had ever sat behind. It never 
broke a buckle or a strap during the time he had it. It was an 
unusually fine goer across country. Nothing was said about its 
shying when Mr. Palmer and his coachman came over to look at it. 
It would skip and jump a bit when fresh, as all horses would do, 
but there was no vice about it. He had driven it through water, 
and never knew it to rear, bolt, jib, or shy. 
The witness was asked in cross-examination whether he ever knew 
the horse shy, but he declined to answer the question for some time, 
and said he would stop until Mr. Edlin was tired of repeating it. 
On being admonished by the learned Judge, he admitted that he 
had known it shy—all horses would do so at times. He swore most 
positively that nothing was said about shying by Mr. Palmer’s 
coachman. When he bought the horse it had a lot of warts upon 
it, which it cost him 1 Os. or so to cure. He was not’aware of any 
disease of the eye, but he knew that it sustained a slight blow on 
the off eye while he had it. 
His Lordship .—Which eye was it ? 
Defendant .—’Pon my soul I don’t know. (Laughter.) I think 
it was the off eye. 
Cross-examination continued—He did not bargain with Mr. 
Barnes, of Andover, for the sale of the horse to him. Mr. Barnes 
didn’t tell him that it had diseased eyes. Mr. Barnes looked at its 
eyes, and said it had not breed enough for him. He had ridden it 
by starlight, by moonlight, and in the dark, but it never shied so as 
to give cause for fear. It once stopped suddenly with him in moon¬ 
light, but he didn’t call that shying. He had been to Biddestone 
revel with some friends, and the horse stopped because of the re¬ 
flection of the moon in some watpr. He was thrown out of the 
trap. (Laughter.) It was all done while he could say “knife.” 
(Laughter.) Mr. Little, who was also in the trap, crawled along the 
back of the horse, got hold of the reins, turned the trap round, 
and picked him up. Perhaps they had been living pretty well; 
