2oS The Management and Treatment of the Horse, 



held up the horse with a bridle or stand on rising 

 ground ; this should be especially attended to whilst 

 examining the legs. It is invariably the practice of 

 dealers when exhibiting a horse to place it so that its 

 fore-legs are on the highest ground ; this is done to 

 hide the defects of the formation or disease of the 

 horse's legs and feet. Never let a dealer's groom throw 

 the reins over the horse's head and hold it back with 

 the curb while he touches it under the belly with a 

 long whip, which has the effect of putting it on its 

 mettle, and therefore it hardly knows where it places its 

 feet, consequently it will bend both its knees and throw 

 out its feet more than it does in its ordinary style ol going. 

 These wily servants take care to always bring the horse 

 to a stand with its fore-feet on the highest ground, which 

 makes it advance its legs so as to conceal any knuckling 

 of the knees or pastern. If they object to let the horse 

 go and stand naturally, be sure that it is a screw, 

 and has some disease they are anxious to conceal, 

 and that by their placing it with its fore-feet on the 

 rising ground they are anxious to conceal its knuck- 

 ling at the knees or pastern joint, and by doing so 

 they give a " groggy " animal all the appearance of 

 soundness. The first point for a purchaser to attend 

 to is the head at the crown, to ascertain if it has had 

 the disease I described in a former page, called poll- 

 ceil; examine its nostrils carefully, pinch both nostrils 

 close together so as to make the horse blow its nose 

 when you loose your hold ; this will enable you to find 

 out if the horse is " plugged," and if it blows out of its 

 nostril a pleget of tow or cotton wool be sure it is a 



