OF FARRIERY. 



485 



safety, must needs hold the Horse's head 

 whilst I examined his legs, still assuring me 

 he was perfectly quiet ; nevertheless, every 

 time I attempted to feel below his knees, the 

 Horse started, and flew about the stall in a 

 strange manner, to the no small risk of my 

 toes and shins. Whilst I stood musing and 

 wondering what beside the devil could pos- 

 sibly ail the animal, I discovered a short whip 

 under the arm of the jockey, with which he 

 had, no doubt, tickled the neck and chest of 

 the Horse, whenever I stooped down with the 

 intent of handling his legs. I wished this 

 adept good morning. 



"A good quiet stable survey is a material 

 pielude, the Horse being under none of that 

 excitement which will probably have place in 

 him when abroad upon the show. Unless, 

 indeed, he should have been previously subject 

 to that most barbarous stable dicipline which 

 I too often witnessed in days of yore, but 

 which, I hope, does not in the present days, 

 at least, not in so great a degree or so usually 

 disgrace the conduct of our dealers. I refer 

 to the daily, too probably almost hourly, at- 

 tendance of a fellow with a whip, who flogs 

 and cuts the Horses up and down in their 

 stalls, causing them to jump and fly about as 

 if mad, keeping them in such a constant state 

 of miserable apprehension, that they dread the 

 approach of any human being. The motive 

 of this was to render them active, ready, and 

 lively on a show, and to hide defects ; and, as 

 an exas:2:eration of this monstrous barbarity, 

 tlie unfortunate cripples had even an addi- 

 tional share of this discipline, being whipped 

 and beat most cruelly for putting out, in order 

 to ease, a crippled limb. I vouch as an eye 

 witness. It was a constant practice at the 

 repositories, with the poor worn out machiners 



and post hacks, and I have related, in my old 

 treatise, the case of a beautiful mare, so totally 

 worn out, that every step she took was ob- 

 viously attended with acute torture, whipped, 

 and out, and beat, and checked with the curb, 

 with all the force that a powerful ruffian could 

 exert, whilst the tears were dropping from 

 her sightless eyes." 



To return, the Horse being led out, he will 

 most probably be placed upon rising ground, 

 for the purpose of showing his fore quarters 

 to advantage, which also aflfords the buyer an 

 opportunity of another examination in a good 

 light. Now is the time for regarding whether 

 he be sound or not ; for though the dealer 

 may declare, that he is as sound as a bell, still 

 we should disregard what he may say on that 

 subject, and judge for ourselves. 



We have already spoken of the eyes ; but 

 there is one point which we should regard 

 with equal importance to them ; we allude to 

 his wind. If good and sound, on being nip- 

 ped in the gullet, he will utter such a sound 

 as cannot fail to strike the ear as the emission 

 of a good pair of lungs ; but if his lungs are 

 touched, he will give vent to a dry, husky, 

 short cough. We have, however, seen a 

 strong man sometimes pinch the gullet of a 

 Horse with all his might, without being able 

 to make him cough. There is another way of 

 detecting a broken-winded Horse, and that is 

 by directing your attention to his flanks ; 

 which, under such circumstances, will work 

 either much quicker than ordinarily, or heave 

 deeply, and with great irregularity. 



There are also two other defects in Horses, 

 which though not any thing like so distress- 

 ing to the animal itself, are disagreeable to 

 hear. They go under the denomination of 



" whistlers," and 



roarers ; 

 6 G 



the first mav 



