558 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
FROM SOUNDNESS TO UNSOUNDNESS. 
There is no subject that agitates the mind of the veterinarian 
more than that of soundness. The variable conception of the 
term has given rise to great embarassment to the practitioner, and 
at times, almost to the ruin of his professional reputation. De~ 
cisions in courts have been reversed, and judges of equal rank 
have argued adversely; sellers and buyers of horses consequently 
suffering injustices of more or less extent. There is no branch 
of our practice in which we are so liable to err; hence, how im* 
portant it is to us that we should have, as nearly as possible, di¬ 
rect rules to guide us, and a thorough understanding of their ap¬ 
plication, not only to the law, but to the interests of buyer and 
seller. 
A long-standing question, which has never been satisfactorily 
answered, has been, “ Where does Soundness cease and Unsound¬ 
ness begin ?” Nothing is more difficult to answer, and an absolute 
line of demarcation will probably never be arrived at. All that we 
can expect is that each case, where the question arises in law, may 
be decided upon its merits and justly. Almost every writer upon 
this subject has laid down a different line of division for these 
terms, resulting in the framing of many different definitions for 
these terms, the most of which have been comparatively worth¬ 
less. The terms disease, injury, vice and blemish, have been mis¬ 
construed and used synonymously with the term unsoundness, 
and form has wrongly been considered as a factor in soundness. 
In the latest work on this subject, written by Messrs. Goubaux 
and Banier, I find the definition of unsoundness given as “ any 
apparent trace of depreciation found in or near the skin.” This 
is very faulty, as it not only demands that the horse should be 
perfect anatomically, but certain unsightly colors, blemishes or 
variations of form that might depreciate the value of a horse 
would be considered unsoundness. Without mentioning further 
the absolutely imperfect definitions, I will give the qualifications 
for soundness as forwarded by Oliphant, and quoted by Hanover: 
“ a horse is sound when he is free from hereditary disease, is in 
the possession of his natural and constitutional health, and has as 
