SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
869 
we do not deviate from the point of soundness we pass very few 
horses, and interfere with the horse trade. If I found a diseased 
condition that would in any way reduce the value I would men¬ 
tion it. ^ Absent molars is one of these cases. I would pass a 
horse with such a condition as sound if the cavity was closed 
with cicatricial tissue unless pinned down to a point of strict 
soundness. A horse with absent molars I would pass. My ex¬ 
perience bears me out in this. I believe a veterinary examiner 
should be more or less liberal in his report. He should avoid 
as much as possible interfering" with the horse business or trade. 
Protect your client, and when it is for his interest reject. Your 
opinion must be based upon whether the horse’s utility is inter¬ 
fered with or not. 
Dr. Robertson. I do not see how a horse with diseased or 
absent molars could be strictly sound, but I have been lax and 
have not examined many horse’s molars. Cribbing" is a bad 
habit and may lead to unsoundness, and a cribber should be re¬ 
jected. Wind-Slicking is also a cause for rejection. Misrepre¬ 
sentation of age is a question for the law to decide. We are not 
supposed to take the dealer’s word for the horse’s age. Side¬ 
pulling is a habit. M/^ind’^sucking I would consider an unsound¬ 
ness and cribbing a habit from the simple fact that I believe it 
can be traced to disordered digestion. 
Dr. Hughes. Diseased leeth in the upper jaw may be a 
cause of ulceration, a factor which might cause abscess in the 
maxillary sinus and nasal gleet. I confess I rarely look in the 
mouth for diseased teeth, at the same time that does not avert 
the fact that an absent molar means an unsound horse, and I do 
not think a man is justified in passing a horse with an absent 
molar. If you extract a diseased tooth that means that the horse 
is laid up for several weeks. I hold that cribbing as a rule is 
associated with wind-sucking. Now conies up the question as 
to what is wind-sucking. Is it a habit by which the animal 
grasps a mouthful of air and lets it pass down his oesophagus ? 
No, we do not know anything about it. Misrepresentation of 
age is a question to be decided by law. As to the cause of side¬ 
pulling and definition, I must confess I have learned a great deal 
about it to-night. Dr. Wyman says it is a diseased condition of 
the brain, and the question of dummy came up, also cerebritis 
and softening of the brain. Dr. Quitman says a dummy means 
a softening of the brain. Dr. W^yman has taken the position 
that softening results from a traumatism, and that with the 
traumatism there must be infection. 
