BUYING. 7 



for private inspection from two to three days before 

 the auction-day. Taking, if possible, one good judge 

 with you, eschewing the opinions of all grooms and 

 others — in fact, fastening the responsibility of selection 

 on the one individual — make for yourself all the ex- 

 amination you possibly can, in or out of stable, of the 

 animal you think likely to suit you. There is generally 

 a way of finding out some of the antecedents of the 

 horses from the men about the establishment. 



Fairs. — To my mind it is preferable to purchase at 

 fairs rather than at an auction : indeed, a judge will 

 there have much more opportunity of comparison than 

 elsewhere. 



Pricate Purchase. — In buying from, a private gentle- 

 man or acquaintance, it is not unusual to get a horse 

 on trial for three or four days. Many liberal dealers, 

 if they have faith in the animal they want to dispose 

 of, and in the intending purchaser, will permit the same 

 thing. 



Warranty. — As observed under the head of "Select- 

 ing," it is never wise to conclude the purchase of a 

 horse without having him examined by a professional 

 veterinary surgeon, and getting a certificate of his actual 

 state. If the animal be a high-priced one, a warranty 

 should be claimed from the seller as a sine qua non ; 

 and if low-priced, a professional certificate is desirable, 

 stating the extent of unsoundness, for your own satis- 

 faction.* 



* If you happen to buy a low-priced animal, and depend upon 

 your own opinion as to soundness, it is well to feel and look closely 

 at the back part of the fore leg, above the fetlock, and along the 

 pasterns, for cicatrices left after the performance of the operation 

 of unnerving, by means of which a horse will go perhaps appar- 

 ently sound while navicular disease is progressing in his foot, to 



