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CHAPTER VIII 



THE FIVE COMMON DEFECTS 



I will now describe to the best of my ability the five well-known 

 defects in horses. 



That horse is described as being chronically lame (kuhna lang) 

 that goes slightly lame on being first taken out of the stable, but 

 when warmed by work its lameness disappears either entirely, or 

 nearly so. 



Should you suspect your horse of hamrl — God forbid that it 

 should be so — mount it whip in hand, and ride it up a steep incline. 

 Then should the horse climb true, you need have no suspicion of 

 hamrl ; but if the contrary be the case, there is no doubt in the 

 matter. 



Another test is to tether it in its stall and sit near it at night 

 to watch it. If it gets up easily after lying down, then buy it; but 

 if the contrary, return it to the would-be seller. 



If a horse is a poor feeder {kam-khor), it will also be a poor 

 worker. A greedy feeder keeps fat and carries condition, whether 

 it be a big one or a little one. A greedy feeder a dealer can hawk 

 around at will, but a poor feeder he will find a bad bargain. The 

 only test is to notice the amount that the horse eats. An ex- 

 perienced dealer will examine the dung, and if the pellets are small, 

 the knowing man takes it as a sign of a poor appetite. 



If the horse is a man-eater, given to using its teeth {danddn- 

 gir), it is past praying for.^ It is scarcely necessary to describe this 

 evil ; the purchaser will discover it unaided. The only cure for 

 this vice is death. Most vices are cured by castration, but not this 

 inherent viciousness ; nay, castration makes it even worse, for oft 

 have I proved this by experiment. 



Ask me not what " night-blindness" is (shah-kori) .- Test ib by 

 casting a blanket in front of the horse at night ; then if the horse, 



1 A native cure, however, is to make a pumpkin or a hirinjdl burning 

 hot; this is presented to the horse by the sais whenever it tries to savage 



^ In Hindi rataundhd (nyctalopia). 



