The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1891-07-14

Who can aiiswer2 Ono authority
says that When applied to horses
'ssound" means perfect but this def
inition has been overthrowp, for there
is scarcely a perfect horse iilcxistcnce-
The most skillful veterinary surgeon
can not many times tell whether a
horse is sound o. not. The internal
organs are hidden front view and
Of their affection are not
always clear or plain, The organs Of
respiration vary in different animals
under different conditions, and any APP
parent abnormal respiration, for in
stance, might, in one case Indicate
disease and in another not, even
though the apparent OF zeal abnor-
NAL respiration WE'RE exactly alike.
Similar nndecisiyc conditions may
prevail in The osseous anatomy. No
two horses are alike in their osseous
developments, hence arise those strange
anomalies in limbs and joints about
which experts are 50 prore to differ in
opinion IS to the presence or absence
Of disease. The hooks, for instance,
present such variety in conformation,
and in Some instances such unusual
development Of bony structure as to
render. correct DIAGNOSIS q matter Of
the greatest uncertainty. If the extra
ordinary iosseous development is con-
genital, then so far as this point is
concerned, the animal is sound other
wise II is not. Not knowing the ami
NAL from birth no one could tell
whether he was sound or not.
There are several different confor-
nations Of horses and gaits in travel
that often indicate unsoundness in
some respest ~xhen none exists. A
certain construction Of the rump, when
existing in an exaggerated form, i'm
parts to the action behind the appear
ance Of lamenesS in one hind limb
when the horse goes from you and in
the other when be approaches. A
slight inclination inward of one fore
foot conveys tie impression of lame
ness IN the opposite limb and this in
clination may be caused by improper
shoeipg. STRAIGHT shoulders and up
right acton tead to Inc belief dfIamc-
ness III both forelegs. Tire hind legs
set widely apart occasion oscillation
of the body and 9, sense of lanlcness is
ilcited as eilecting both limbs. Some
times the smith in shoeing has pricked
both fore feet and in consequence
when the animal moves he appears
stiff in front or foundered. So often
disease exists where there are no evil
dences Of It, and so frequently does
disease not exist when there is APP
parent evidence Of it, that, unless evil
dences are clear and beyond dispute, ii
is precarioos to express a judgment.
! A piece Of machinery may be taken
apart and examined, and an expert
can tell whether it is sound or not; a
physician could not tell half the time
whether 4 patient is sick or not, if the
patient would keep his mouth shut
he gets his enc from the sick one him.
self; but with dumb animals obey cail
not be taken apart and examined
piece by piece, nor can they tel
whether or how they are sick or mi
sound, hence the difficulty many times
to Tell whether disease exists or not
A second authority in defining sound
ness, says; If The disease is not Of
such a nature as 10 impede the natu-
raj usefulness of the animal for the
purposes for which he is used il will
not amount to an unsoundness." A
third authority simply states as fol-
lows; "If q horse is purchased to be
used in given way the word sound
means that the animal is useful foI
that purpose; and 'unsound' means
that he at the time is affected with
something which will have the effect
of impeding that USE" In large
majority Of cases horse warranty is
not worth more than the snap of a
finger.-[ Breeder and Sportsman.