THE HORSE. 79 



with the immediate sale of the horse, or depreciate his 

 price, the owner can insist upon your taking him off 

 his hands or paying for the injury done. 



If you want a hackney, and try him as you would 

 a hunter, then are you liable for accidents, although 

 they may occur at another part of the trial, because it 

 may be that the improper exertion to which he has been 

 subjected may have conduced to the accident. 



A particular condition, to be acquired only by a 

 certain treatment or training, will enable the horse 

 to accomplish any extraordinary work, as in the case 

 of the racer, the hunter, and the trotter. But the 

 further removed he is from his legitimate work, so much 

 greater is the chance of the animal's being ruined, even 

 when exercised for a short time only. You should also t 

 bear in mind that horses for sale are generally in the 

 very worst possible condition to bear fatigue : they are 

 got up to catch the eye and are made as soft and sleek 

 us possible. In the " selling state" they are, so to 

 speak, all fat ; in their " trained state/' all muscle. It 

 is the opinion of many horse-buyers that horses should 

 always be in a " trained condition ; " but the simple and 

 ordinary requirements of commercial transactions render 

 this, generally, impossible. The trotter is the horse 

 kept nearest this state of training, being mostly in the 

 hands of those who possess only one horse, and who 

 are consequently always putting their animal to the 

 trial. A really sound trotter is, therefore, a most 



