SELLING. 80 



be brought to a standstill, and coaxed up gradually to 

 it, that he may assure himself of its harmlessness by 

 smelling and feeling it with his nose and lips, if possible. 

 Punishment by whip or spur — what is called " cram- 

 ming" him up to a thing — is a vile error. 



When a horse is found to evince a confirmed objec- 

 tion to passing a particular place, and that he keeps 

 bolting and turning viciously in spite of all ordinary 

 efforts to prevent it, take him at his own fancy, and 

 keep turning and turning him till he is so tired of that 

 game that he will only be too glad to go forward past 

 the objectionable spot. A horse's sense of smelling is 

 very acute, and sometimes a dead animal in the ditch 

 or field by the side of the road, though unseen, will 

 cause an abrupt and very unseating sort of a shy, with 

 an ordinarily quiet beast of sensitive olfactory nerves. 



SELLING. 



If the horse you wish to dispose of be a fancy one, 

 either for beauty, action, or disposition, and a fancy 

 price be required, efforts must be made to obtain the 

 fancy customer to suit, and time and attention must be 

 devoted to that object. But if he be of the ordinary 

 useful class, unless a purchaser be found at once, let 

 the owner, directty he has made up his mind to part 

 with him, think of the best market available, whether 

 public auction, a fair, or private sale by commission. 



The public auction, with a good description of the 

 animal's merits, if he has any, is the readiest and least 

 troublesome mode of disposing of all unsuitable pro- 

 perty ; and from my own experience, I should say that 



