CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



Generally, this consists of from four to seven 

 drachms of Barbadoes aloes, powdered, and 

 formed into a round moistened mass, fit to be 

 swallowed. It requires to be administered by a 

 skilful groom, who will push it over the throat 

 adroitly, without alarming the animal. Some- 

 times the powder is mixed with a little Castile 

 soap. An hour or less after taking physic, a 

 bran-mash should be given, and then the horse be 

 gently exercised. On his return to the stable, he 

 may be offered a drink of water from which the 

 chill is taken, or as warm as he will take it. 



We should consider it imprudent to offer any 

 further explanations of the materia medica of 

 horses; and again recommend all unskilled or 

 but partially instructed persons not to attempt 

 doctoring their horses themselves, but to obtain 

 at once the advice of a veterinary surgeon. 



ADVICE IN PURCHASING A HORSE. 



The purchasing of a horse is ordinarily a 

 matter of very serious difficulty, in consequence 

 of the proverbial trickiness of dealers, and the 

 many defective points in the animal's constitu- 

 tion, which cannot be seen with all the care that 

 may be bestowed. In offering any hints on this 

 important particular, we must refer to the instruc- 

 tions of authorities whose testimony is worthy of 

 confidence. Mr Stewart has written a valuable 

 little manual, entitled Advice to the Purchasers of 

 Horses, which should be in the hands of all who 

 have frequent occasion to make purchases. The 

 following are a few of his admonitions : 



'In buying a horse, one of the chief requisites 

 to be attended to is the degree of nervous energy 

 which the animal possesses ; and it is the union 

 of this energy with good conformation that makes 

 many horses invaluable. Its absence or presence, 

 however, is not likely to be discovered by the 

 purchaser without a trial; and to avoid disap- 

 pointment in this respect, it is therefore advisable 

 to obtain one prior to purchase. The horse 

 should be set to the work he will be called on to 

 perform ; and if he is intended for the saddle or 

 single harness, he should have no companion on 

 his trial, for many animals work well in company 

 that are downright sluggards when alone. Some 

 horses have an unpleasant way of going, or are 

 difficult to manage, or have some vice which is 

 only displayed when at work : these are so many 

 more reasons for having a trial prior to striking a 

 bargain. But if that cannot be obtained, some 

 sort of conclusion regarding the animal's spirit 

 may be drawn from his general appearance. The 

 way he carries his head, his attention to sur- 

 rounding objects, his gait, and the lively motion 

 of his ears, may all or each be looked to as 

 indicative of "bottom," or willingness to work. 

 It is only, however, in a private stable, or in that 

 of a respectable dealer, that these criteria can be 

 depended upon ; for in a market-place, the animal 

 is too much excited by the cracking of whips, and 

 the too frequent application of them, to be judged 

 of as regards his temper. Neither must the 

 buyer be thrown off his guard by the animation 

 which horses display at an auction, or on coming 

 out of the stable of a petty dealer ; for it is a fact, 

 which cannot be too well made known, that there 

 are many unprincipled dealers who make it their 

 business, before shewing a horse, "to put some 



life in him" that is, they torture him with the 

 lash, till, between pain and fear, the poor animal 

 is so much excited, as to bound from side to side 

 with his utmost agility at the least sound or move- 

 ment of the by-standers.' 



This writer continues, in relation to the head 

 and other parts of the animal: 'The head, as 

 being a part not at all contributing to progression, 

 should in the saddle-horse be small, that it may 

 be light ; the nostrils expanded, to admit plenty 

 of air, and the space between the branches of the 

 lower jaw, called the channel, should be wide, 

 that there may be plenty of room for the head of 

 the windpipe. In the draught-horse, a heavy 

 head is not, so far as utility is concerned, an 

 objection, for it enables him to throw some 

 weight into the collar; and hence, excepting its 

 ugliness, it is rather an advantage, if he is used 

 entirely for draught. But it makes the saddle- 

 horse bear heavy on the hand of the rider, makes 

 him liable to stumble, and, when placed at the 

 end of a long neck, is apt to wear out the fore-feet 

 and legs by its great weight. The neck of the 

 saddle-horse should be thin, not too much arched, 

 and rather short than long, for the same reason 

 that the head should be light ; and in the draught- 

 horse it may be thick, stallion-like, and suffi- 

 ciently long to afford plenty of room for the 

 collar, and for the same reason that the head may 

 be large in this animal. The windpipe should be 

 large, and standing well out from the neck, that 

 the air may have an easy passage to and from the 

 lungs. A horse intended to be used for the 

 miscellaneous purposes of carriage and draught, 

 should have a head and neck neither too light nor 

 too heavy. 



' That the saddle-horse may be safe, and have 

 extensive action, it is necessary that the withers 

 be high. This advantage is indicated by the 

 horse standing well up before ; and it is usual, in 

 shewing a horse, to exaggerate the height of the 

 forehand by making him stand with his fore-feet 

 on a somewhat elevated spot. A horse with low 

 withers appears thick and cloddy about the 

 shoulder. In the ass and mule, the withers are 

 very low, and the shoulders very flat, and this is 

 the reason why they are so unpleasant to ride, 

 and why it is next to impossible to keep the 

 saddle in its proper place without the aid of a 

 crupper. High withers, however, are not essential 

 to the racer or the draught-horse. The former 

 does all his work by leaps, and that is performed 

 best when the horse stands somewhat higher 

 behind than before : neither are high withers 

 necessary to the draught-horse ; but in the road- 

 ster, they are as important as the safety of the 

 rider is, for a horse with a low forehand is easily 

 thrown on his knees. In the draught-horse, this 

 tendency towards the ground is obviated by the 

 support the collar affords. 



'The chest should be deep and wide in all 

 horses, but especially so in one intended for quick 

 work, in order that there may be plenty of room 

 for the play of those important organs, the lungs. 



'The back should not be too long nor t 

 short; for though length is favourable to 

 extended stride and rapid motion, yet it makes 

 the horse weak, and unable either to draw or 

 carry any considerable weight. On the other 

 hand, if the back be too short, the horse's acti 

 must be confined; and short-backed horses, 



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