82 THE HORSE. 



gence or mismanagement mtiy do a great deal of mis- 

 chief. Too rough a liand upon a sensitive mouth, or a 

 little nervousness or improper treatment in the driving, 

 or inattention to the harness, may be all the fault, and, 

 after being put to great expense and inconvenience, you 

 may still be obliged to retain the horse, as all those things 

 that seemed the effect of vice have been occasioned by 

 want of skill. 



A chance kick or rear, if merely in play, as is gener- 

 ally the case when the animal is too fresh or in the habit 

 of looking or playing on seeing certain objects (which 

 some would term shying), is not a vice, and does not 

 render the horse returnable, where it can be proved that 

 he was in a good humor or wanted work. Any mischief 

 that might result would be at the risk of the buyer. But 

 where the seller allows any one to try a horse in harness, 

 whilst thus too fresh, without giving a caution, all mis- 

 chief that ensues falls upon the vendor's shoulders. 

 Where this caution is given, he must either be a very 

 good or a very foolhardy coachman to be his own driver 

 until the seller has driven a little of this play out of 

 him. 



SHYING. 



When horses shy, it is either from unsoundness, play, 

 or vice. It is generally occasioned by disease in the eye: 

 cataract is the most common. Should the horse start at a 

 little water or froth lying in the roacl, you may almost 

 depend upon this disease being present, even though it 

 exists in the shape of a speck no bigger than a pin's 

 point. After cataracts are formed in the eye, that part 

 of the pupil which is affected becomes opaque. Cataracts 

 vary from the smallest specks to the obliteration or total 

 opacity of the pupil, the shying increasing up to the last 

 stage of blindness. Inflammation or cold in the eye 



