In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 241 



are liable to, it is not to be wondered at. If the less 

 show any signs of having been bandaged a well- 

 grounded suspicion may be entertained that all is not 

 right. Pay particular attention to the state of the 

 animal's wind, for if the animal is touched in the wind 

 he is sure to be " loaded " before going into a fair. 

 Perhaps my readers may misunderstand the word 

 " loaded." This is another trick of the unprincipled 

 professional horse coper. When they have a horse 

 broken-winded which they wish to sell, they generally 

 contrive to get some one to make a " swop," i.e., 

 exchange ; by doing so they steer clear of the law and 

 the animal is not returnable. When they are about 

 bringing the horse out of the stable they load him, 

 this is done by making up a quarter of a pound of shot 

 into a ball with soap, and putting it down the animal's 

 throat. This loading is done to bear down the animal's 

 stomach and give temporary relief to the animal's lungs, 

 and many a poor man has found out next day that he 

 has exchanged a useful horse and given several pounds 

 to boot for an animal that is not worth fifty shillings. 

 Another trick which is carried on to a considerable 

 extent is the art of " bish oping." This is a trick which 

 takes its name from an unprincipled dealer of olden 

 times, who was supposed to be the first man who re- 

 sorted to this piece of roguishness. Bish oping a horse 

 is done by throwing a horse and putting a large wooden 

 roller into its mouth while the operator files down its 

 teeth ; then, with irons made for the purpose, he pro- 

 ceeds to burn the centre of the teeth, making them 

 resemble the natural marks in a young horse, so that a 

 p 



