CHAPTER II. 



PURCHASINa HORSES AT FAIRS. DEALERS. 

 VETERINARY EXAMINATIONS. 



It is necessary, when going to a fair to purchase a horse, to first 

 decide on the kind of horse required, and then to select your 

 fair. We will take the different classes of horses in the 

 following order : — First, hunters ; second, hacks and harness 

 horses ; third, omnibus, van, and agricultural horses ; fourth, 

 cobs and ponies. 



HUNTERS. 



The chief fairs for purchasing hunters are as follows : — 

 Preston, Lancashire, first whole week in January ; Northaller- 

 ton, Yorkshire, first whole week in February ; Lincoln, last 

 whole week in April ; Northallerton, Yorkshire, 1st to 5th of 

 May; Rugeley, Staffordshire, 1st to 6th of June; Borobridge, 

 Yorkshire, 14th to 21st of June ; Horncastle, Lincolnshire, 

 whole week nearest the 10th of August; Howden, the week 

 after Doncaster races; Rugby, 16th to 22nd of November; 

 York, the last whole week before Christmas. A full list will be 

 given, at the end of this chapter, of the dates of all the 

 principal fairs in England ; but the above mentioned fairs are 

 by far the best for hunters. As a rule it might be asserted that 

 for the better class of hunters, and also for hacks and match 

 horses, the fair really commences about two days before the 

 above dates. For instance, for a fair lasting a week, a large 

 number of horses come in on the Friday and Saturday, and up 

 to Monday a large number change hands. Therefore, to any 



