CHAPTER XV. 

 HOW TO BUY AND SELL A HOUSE. 



I ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE NECESSAKY. IT. BUYING CHEAP HORSES. III. A GUAB» 



ANTEE OF SOUNDNESS. IV. KNOW WHAT YOU BUY FOR. V. THE PROPORTIONS 



OF THE HORSE. VI. DESCRIPTION OF ECLIPSE. VII. WHAT CONSTITUTES A 



GOOD HORSE. VIII. MODELS FOR BUYING. IX. THE RACING AND THE TROT- 

 TING FORM. X. THE ROADSTER. XI SADDLE HORSES. XII. A HORSE OF 



HIGH FORM. XIII. BUYING FOR BLOOD. XIV. CHOOSING THE BROOD MARE 



XV. SELECTING THE STALLION. XVI. HOW TO DETECT VICES AND DEFECTS. 



XVII. SOME FAULTS AND IMPERFECTIONS. XVIII. WHAT IS UNSOUNDNESS ? 



XIX. BLEMISHES. 



I. Accurate Knowledge Necessary. 



The value of correct information in trading is no where greater than 

 fii buying a horse, with a view to his future use. There is so much to be 

 yarded against in selecting an animal of good physical proportions for 

 the labor intended ; so many vices, the result of bad breeding, or of abuse 

 oy previous owners ; so much unsoundness occasioned by hereditary trans- 

 mission, by overwork, hard driving, or neglect ; so many defects which 

 dishonest intelligence may cover up for the time being, that the purchaser 

 must have been a close student and a keen observer to be able to guard 

 against them all. In fact, no man can do so without a trial of the horse, 

 in addition to the exercise of critical judgment. 



In Chapters II, III, IV, and more especially in Chapter V, we have 

 given illustrations and directions covering many important points. In 

 the chapters relating to veterinary, others will be found. In this chap- 

 ter, we shall go thoroughly over the ground not elsewhere covered. 

 n. Buying Cheap Horses. 



The mania for buying cheap horses, or rather for getting an animal for 

 much less than his actual value, is a weakness of such a large number of 

 persons, that it is no wonder there are so many bad horses in the hands 

 of farmers. Their means are often small, and, desiring to get as much 

 as possible for their money, without being prepared to judge correctly 

 the parts of an animal, they are often duped by designing men. And, 

 having thus been taken in, the animal, as a rule, must indeed be a sorry 

 one if the victim does not in turn practice the same deceit upon another. 

 To avoid being swindled, it is a good and safe rule to distrust any horse 

 that is offered for much less than his apparent value. An animal thus 

 offered has generally been dishonestly come-by, has some unsoundness, 

 ■ IB vicious in some way, or has some defect known to the sjclier and not 

 represented. Hence, a guarantee should always be taken, unless 

 the price paid is sufficiently low to cover all possible defects. Moreover, 



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