It  would  certainly  be  unreasonable  to
estimate  the  standard  of  soundness  by  the
standard  of  perfection,  for  a  horse  may  be
perfectly  sound,  and  yet  a  bad  mover,  and
hable  to  stumble.  Also,  by  having  a  less
capacious  chest,  and  smaller  lungs,  he  may
not  be  so  good-winded  as  another,  yet  this
circumstance  cannot  constitute  unsound-
ness. The  eyes  also  vary  considerably  in
tlieir  natural  formation,  some  being  smaller
than  others.  Horses  with  small  eyes  are
generally  sh}^  and  slartlish,  from  being  near-
sio;hted,  on  account  of  the  tlatness  of  the
cornea  or  outward  surface  of  the  eye :  still
no  disease  may  exist  in  the  eye  at  the  time
of  sale,  although  eyes  of  this  description
are  justly  considered  as  more  liable  to  blind-


PREFACE.  XIX

ness.  Dealers  distinguish  them  by  the  term
buck-eyed,  or  moon-eyed,  and  generally
deem  them  unsound.  But  it  would  be  just
as  reasonable  to  deem  a  horse  unsound,  be-
cause, in  his  natural  formation,  he  might
happen  to  be  what  is  called  over-hock'd ;  a
form  which,  by  experience,  is  well  known  to
be  more  subject  to  spavins  and  thorough
pins  than  any  other.
Running  thrushes,  or  rotten  frogs,  are
considered  by  some  as  a  mark  of  unsound-
ness, whilst  the  contrary  opinion  is  held  by
others  ;  yet,  both  a  well-formed  foot,  and  a
bad-formed  foot,  may  be  affected  with  run-
ning thrushes ;  nor  is  lameness  always  a
consequence  of  this  disease.
A  cough  is  frequently  the  forerunner  of
what  is  termed  broken  wind,  yet  a  horse
may  cough,  occasionally,  for  several  years,
and  not  ultimately  become  unsound  in  his
wind.
