150 HORSES AT AUCTION. 



Third, are those horses which a speculating coachman has 

 bought cheap and holds at an advanced price. In some 

 cases these horses are good and the prices are correspond- 

 ingly high. It more often happens that the servant has 

 made an injudicious purchase for which reason the price is 

 temptingly low, or so high as to indicate the existence of 

 perfection. 



HORSES AT AUCTION. 



In addition to these retail dealers, if the expression may 

 be allowed, are the wholesale dealers who control the great 

 marts in the large cities where bi- or tri-weekly sales by 

 auction are held. The approximate charge is lo per cent 

 to all owners whose horses have sold for under $ioo, and 8 

 per cent on all sales of $ioo or over. One half of these per- 

 centages are charged on the highest sums bid for horses not 

 sold. The purchaser cannot be held for any sum beyond 

 that bid. The commission and stable charges are paid by 

 the person selling the horse. 



The objections to buying a horse at auction are many. 

 No opportunity is given to obtain the true history of the 

 animal or to fairly test him under the same conditions as 

 those he will encounter in performing the work for which 

 he is intended, and hence it is that road and stable tricks 

 remain hidden until the horse becomes the purchaser's prop- 

 erty. A horse brought out of a dark stable into the arti- 

 ficially lighted salesroom is bewildered by the confusing 

 mass of humanity that immediately surrounds him, handles 

 and jabs him in the ribs, or disconcerts him with other 

 roughly administered forms of examination. After one or 

 two weak bids the horse is rushed a few rods up and down 



