8 THE NEW POCKET FARRIEK. 



first in, lest the owner, or some of his quick emissaries, 

 take an opportunity to fig him ; a practice common 

 among dealers, in order to make the tail show as if 

 carried very high, when, in reahty, the day after, he will, 

 in appearance, be five pounds worse. 



THE EYES. 



This is the proper time to examine his eyes, which 

 may be done in a dark stable, with a candle, or rather 

 IB the day time when he is led from the stall ; cause the 

 man who leads him to stop at the stable door just as his 

 head peeps out, and all his body still within. If the 

 white of the eye appears reddish at the bottom, or of a 

 colour like a withered leaf, I would not advise you to 

 purchase him. A moon-eyed horse is known by his 

 weeping, and keeping his eyes almost shut at the 

 beginning of the distemper : as the moon changes, he 

 gradually recovers his sight, and in a fortnight or three 

 weeks sees as well as before he had the disorder. 

 Dealers, when they have such a horse to sell, at the 

 time of his weeping always tell you that he has got a 

 bit of straw or hay in his eye, or that he has received 

 some blow : they also take care to wipe away the 

 humour, to prevent its being seen ; but a man should 

 trust only himself in buying of horses, and above all, 

 be very exact in examining the eyes. In this he must 

 have regard to time and place where he makes the 

 examination. Bad eyes may appear good in winter, 

 when snow is upon the ground ; and often, good ones 

 appear bad according to the position of the horse. 

 Never examine a horse's eyes by the side of a white 

 wall, where the dealers always choose to show one that 

 is moon-eyed. 



