48 . PURCHASING FROM THE STABLES. 



pulse above fifty, you must consider well the risk 

 you run : it may be only slight fever, or tempo- 

 rary derangement caused by the boat, bad feed- 

 ing, &c. ; but there may be, also, some radically 

 bad disease lurking. 



Most horses from the stables cough a little at 

 first, but the whole catalogue of diseases of the 

 lungs and air-passages, excepting chronic cough, 

 are comparatively rare in India. If the cough 

 is very short, like that of an asthmatic person, 

 or very loud and stertorous, either will denote 

 some chronic derangement, and it will be on the 

 safe side to reject him: (I have seldom passed 

 over a valuable horse myself in consequence of 

 this, but merely deducted something for the 

 risk;) and if when one nostril is closed, the 

 breathing is not clear in the other, it will denote 

 an ulcer in this passage, and he should be re- 

 jected also. Pinching the windpipe is the only 

 ready mode of exciting a cough, if the walk and 

 trot fail-; but all dealers will not stand much 

 of this pinching, for it is very possible to bring 

 on a cough that never existed. It must be the 

 last thing resorted to when purchasing : you 

 should previously make up your mind to take 

 the horse, if satisfied with the sound of the 

 cough. 



