that a horse is
unsound, unless he works his flanks like the drone of a bagpipe, or
blows and roars like a blacksmith's bellows; while some are so
fastidious as to consider a horse as next to valueless because he may
have a corn that he never feels, or a thrush for which he is not, nor
likely to be, one dollar the worse.

So far as relates to such hypercritical deciders on soundness, we will
venture to say that, if they brought us twenty reported horses in
succession, we would find something in all of those produced that would
induce such persons to reject them, though, perhaps, not one among the
lot had anything about him of material consequence. To say the least, we
will venture to assert that nine-tenths of the horses now in daily use
are more or less unsound. We make no reservation as to the description
of horse, his occupation, or what he may be worth. We scarcely ever had,
indeed scarcely ever knew, a horse that had been used, and tried
sufficiently to prove him a good one, that was in every particular
unequivocally sound. We have no doubt that there are thousands of owners
of horses who will at once say we are wrong in this assertion, and would
be ready to produce their own horses as undeniable proofs, whereby to
back their opinion and refute ours. They may, perhaps, say that their
horses are never lame--perhaps not; that is, not lame in their
estimation or to their eye; but we daily see horses that go to a certain
degree indubitably lame, while their owners conceive them to be as
indubitably sound. These horses, perhaps, all do their work perfectly
well, are held as sound by owners, servants, acquaintances, and casual
observers; but a practical eye would detect an inequality in their
going, as a watchmaker would do the same in the movement of a watch,
though we might look for a week, or listen for the same length of time,
without being able to either see or hear the variation. The watch might,
however, on the average keep fair time; but it would not be a perfect
one; and what matters, if it answers all the purposes for which we want
it? A really bad watch that can not keep time is a different affair;--it
is pretty much the same with a horse. If the unsoundness is such as to
render him unable to do his work, or even to do it unpleasantly to
himself or owner, or if it is likely to bring him to this, our advice is
to have nothing to do with him. If, however, this is not the case, or
likely to be so,--if you like hi