44 HORSES 



The day will come when the boy will have to 

 choose a horse for himself, and it is as well he 

 should train his eye to the general conformation 

 of the animal. Any book on the horse will instruct 

 him, with the help of a diagram, in the list of 

 names by which different parts of the body are 

 known, and a superficial study in anatomy will do 

 him no harm. It is, however, only by a practical 

 experience with the living animal that he can gain 

 the requisite information which will be of use in 

 gauging its capabilities. 



There is one rule I would have you remember, 

 which is — never buy a horse you do not like. 

 This at the first glance appears to be a proceeding 

 which no one is likely to be guilty of, but as a 

 matter of fact it is what many of us are continu- 

 ally doing, and being sorry for afterwards. The 

 persuasive tongue of the seller draws our attention 

 to the good points, and the impression which we 

 had formed gradually fades away, only to be re- 

 membered when the new purchase is in our stable. 

 You may occasionally miss a very good horse by 

 my rule, but I think in the long run you will find 

 it a good rule to bear in mind. 



If I had to choose a horse from one point only I 

 would select his head, and the novice is quite as 

 competent to form a judgment in this particular 

 as the most expert horse-dealer. Do not allow 

 rules which you may have heard as to the shape of 

 a head, or any ideas of your own, to guide you, but 

 rely solely on the intuition which the expression 



