HINTS ON BUYING. 3 



showing signs of wear. Pick up each leg in turn, and look 

 at the foot ; is the frog sound and clean, or does it carry an 

 odour, not of sanctity, to the olfactory nerves? If so, look 

 more closely to it; ascertain whether thrush, &c., exists; then 

 satisfy yourself as to the heels, which should be open, and 

 not contracted, that is, when the foot narrows in the quarters, 

 and the sole gets more concave than it should be ; and bear 

 in mind that Touatt tells us that "one pair of good feet is 

 worth two good pairs of legs." Now as to these latter: Run 

 your hand carefully down, from immediately below the knee, 

 to the fetlock joint. Is the leg cool, flat, and clean ? Let 

 your digits make search for any bony enlargement, splints, 

 &c., and, ''When found, make a note of!" The particular 

 note you have to make is this : Whereabouts is the splint ? 

 If situated on the bone, and not very close to the knee, it 

 will probably never interfere with either his action or his 

 usefulness ; but, on the other hand, if on or near the liga- 

 ments or tendons of the leg, be shy in the extreme of him. 

 for a day's work may leave you with a cripple on your hands. 



If the leg, instead of being flat, is rounded, and apparently 

 fleshy, it will probably be found that the back sinews are 

 strained, and, as an intending purchaser, you had better have 

 nothing to do with him. In this state, a good gallop will be 

 as likely as not to produce what is known as breakdown — 

 i.e., the extreme case of strain of the sinews, for, as a matter 

 of fact, the tendons themselves are very rarely strained. 

 Generally speaking, the injury is one to the sheath, or else 

 some of the fibres attaching to it are broken. 



One word as to windgalls. These puffy enlargements, 

 which are more often found on the hind than the fore legs " 

 are not of serious import unless they become of great size, 

 which is extremely rare ; and a horse should not be rejected 

 on this ground alone. They usually arise from the horse 

 being rattled about, and gradually disappear with steady 

 work. 



Always remembering that it would be quite impossible to 

 indicate any golden rule by which to avoid disappointment 

 in the choice of a horse, one may say, roughly, that your 

 intended purchase should stand true on his feet all round ; 

 the pasterns should be sloping ; the bone trom the knee down- 

 wards not too light, nor the leg too long: the thighs should 

 be muscular, the hocks big and clean, and the body well 



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