686 THE HORSE 



Any one or more of these points may be omitted, or the horse may simply 

 be warranted " a good liack," in which case he must fairly answer that 

 description. The terms "has been hunted," or "has carried a lady," are 

 not to be trusted, as it is only necessary to prove in defence that the horse 

 has seen hounds, and had a woman on his back. 



Whether the horse under examination is to be warranted or not the 

 intending purchaser should never omit to look over every point where 

 unsoundness is likely to occui\ To do this effectually it should be done 

 regularly, by which there is less chance of passing over any serious defect. 

 The usual mode of proceeding is as follows. Under no circumstances, if it 

 can possibly be avoided, should the horse be looked at immediately after 

 having been out of doors ; and if he is of necessity brought to the purchaser, 

 let him be put in the stable and quietly rested for one or two hours at the 

 least, by which time the effects of most of the " coping " tricks will have 

 gone off. 



Before the horse passes the stable door, stop him with his head just 

 inside, and in this position carefully examine his eyes. The light is exactly- 

 suited to this, and the sensibility of the iris may be well judged of. Any 

 specks or opacities are also here readily seen. Then let him be led to a level 

 surface, and then proceed to look over every part, beginning with that 

 nearest the one already inspected, namely the mouth. Then " cough " him 

 by tightly grasping the larynx, by which some idea may be formed of the 

 state of his respiratory organs, after which the usual manoeuvre with the 

 stick may be practised if there is no opportunity of examining into his free- 

 dom from roaring in the saddle. When these points are satisfactorily dis- 

 posed of, look to the position of the fore-legs, that is, whether they are turned 

 in or out, and if the latter feel the elbows, and see if they are confined or 

 " tied," that is too close to the ribs, also look for marks of cutting and speedy 

 cutting. Pass the hand down the back sinews and suspensory ligaments, 

 examine the knees for any marks, and then carefully feel the coronets and 

 heels for any marks of exostosis or ossification. Lastly, take a good look at 

 the front of the foot, and then lifting it inspect the frog, heels, and sole. 

 This will complete the front half of the body, after which the form of the 

 middle and loins should be regarded, and then, lifting the tail, the openness 

 or otherwise of the space I'ound the anus will give some idea of the strength 

 of constitution, while the resistance afforded by the dock will be a sign of 

 the muscular strength of the back. Then look carefully at the hocks, 

 examine the spavin and curb places, and finish the whole by passing the 

 hand down the hind cannon bones to the fetlocks, and feel them in the same 

 order as in the fore-legs. Now let the horse rest a minute if his groom will 

 let him, with his head quite at liberty, and you will be able to judge of his 

 ordinary habit of standing, when unexcited. At the conclusion of this 

 careful examination while at rest, the action must be as minutely investi- 

 gated, by first having the horse walked with a loose rein, and then trotted 

 in the same way slowly, when if he is sound he will put his feet down 

 regularly and firmly. Grooms, when they want to conceal defects, will not 

 let the head be loose, nor will they trot slowly, but bustle the horse along 

 with their hands as close as possible to the mouth, so as to prevent any 

 nodding of the head as much as they can. A very good judge will be per- 

 haps able to select a pleasant hack or harness horse by seeing him thus run 



