154 BUYING. 



sidered the study and care of horses afford ; yet the same 

 man feels competent to undertake a purchase without assist- 

 ance when his needs or inclinations dictate that he shall have 

 one or more horses. If the buyer has a long purse the ex- 

 periment will neither be financially embarrassing nor devoid 

 of interest. The chances are that he will gain much experi- 

 ence which *nay or may not be of the useful order ; and his 

 respect for a good judge of a horse will be amazingly increased. 



The advice of " don't buy a horse from a friend," if fol- 

 lowed, will help to protect the amicable relations existing 

 between men from temporary or lasting rupture. The 

 causes which make sales and purchases hazardous to friend- 

 ship are due to the uncertainty of the condition and the 

 quality of the subject of the transaction (namely, the horse); 

 and the human failing to take advantage of or to distrust 

 upon the slightest provocation. 



Should the reader have some " horsy " friend whose 

 judgment he is willing to recognize as superior to his own 

 and who, by successful purchases in the past, commands suffi- 

 cient confidence to have intrusted to him the entire matter of 

 barter and purchase, let the novice say to such an acquaint- 

 ance, " I am in need of a horse. Will you be kind enough to 

 find one to meet my requirements and have him sent to the 

 stable ? " Name the nature of the work for which the horse 

 is intended, your preference in the matter of color and what 

 price you can afford to pay. A commission of this kind is a 

 compliment to an amateur expert and one which he will 

 endeavor to merit by making as successful a purchase as 

 lies within his power. A good judge of a horse finds the risk 

 of acting as agent is less trying in proportion to the amount of 

 "horsy" knowledge his friend possesses or lacks. It may be 



