70 THE HORSE. 



according to the treatment to which horses of his class 

 and condition are subjected. Thus, suppose you are in 

 Avant of a horse able to trot twelve miles an hour, and 

 upon trial of one you put him to that pace without the 

 consent of the owner, in such case, should any accident 

 or subsequent ilhiess occur or be presumed to occur to the 

 horse as the result of the trial, you may be made to take 

 him at the price agreed upon before starting (and a price 

 should be always agreed upon), or you may be made to 

 pay the damage done to him, should the owner feel dis- 

 posed to compel you so to do. It may seem inconsistent 

 that you should not be permitted to risk accidents, with 

 penalty for their occurrence, by trying a horse at the full 

 speed he should go as one of his class; but as there may 

 be so many interpretations put upon what is a just and 

 what an unjust trial, it is best to have with you at the 

 time the owner or his agent; for if you took the horse 

 further than you were authorized to do by the owner, if 

 you drove it faster, or took it over a different road than 

 the one stipulated, and did this in the absence of the 

 owner or his representative, you would have to pay the 

 cost of any damage done to the animal; but not so if the 

 owner were with you, and he made no objection to your 

 methods of operation. 



Again, if you state that you want a saddle-horse, and 

 receive such an one, but instead of using him for the sad- 

 dle, you try him in harness; for any accidents accruing 

 therefrom you will be liable; so that if you only mark him 

 with the collar, or m any other trifling way, nay, should 

 you rub off a few hairs so as to interfere with the imme- 

 diate sale of the horse, or depreciate his price, the owner 

 can insist upon your taking him off his hands or paying 

 for the injury done. 



If you want a saddle horse, and try liim as you would a 

 hunter, then are you liable for accidents, although they 

 may occur at another part of the trial, because it may be 



