CONDITION OF HUNTERS RESUMED 289 



That firing is a painful operation is indisputable, 

 nevertheless it is preferable to what may be a greater 

 evil, viz. lameness. 



When a hunter begins to show signs of wear in 

 his fore-limbs, the Editor advises firing as the best 

 means of toning up the sinews, etc. 



HUMOURS 



Theory on this subject has undergone a great change 

 within the last twenty years. True it is that horses 

 which live well, and are not properly treated, are 

 liable to a morbid and vitiated state of the blood, 

 the virulence of which (the grease for instance) is 

 sufficiently proved by the difficulty with which it is 

 got rid of, and the animal restored to its natural and 

 healthy state. The characteristic strength and vigour 

 of the horse, however, is amply displayed by the 

 immense and long-continued local discharge which 

 he will sometimes undergo, without the constitution 

 appearing to be much affected by it. 



It is well known that a very considerable number 

 of hunters have passed through my hands, and of 

 course some of them horses of high character, by the 

 prices I obtained for them. In short, at one time of 

 my life, my friends used to tell me, that, from the 

 frequent purchases I made, there was but a shade 

 between me and the licensed horse-dealer. It might 

 have been so ; but we will let that pass ; and I will 

 proceed to state one fact, which I think I may say is 

 nearly, if not quite, unequalled in the annals of 

 horse-dealing — I never had a horse returned 



T 



