aoou roiNTs.] 



AlODJ-KN VKTKKl N'AliY IMPACT ICE. 



f(JO()D I'OIVTS. 



CIIArTER A'TII. 



i»UB(irASlN(i A HOUSK ; CIIOOSINO ; EXAMlNATUtN FOR DEFECTS AND DISKASE ; JIDCINC oK ACE llY 



Tin; TEETH. 



REMARKS ON TIIK PURCHASING OF A 

 HORSE. 



Soundness in a liorse is one of tlio first 

 requisites in its purchase or sale; and there 

 are few subjects upon which greater doubt, 

 difTiculty, and annoyance has arisen, than 

 upon tlie condition and qualities of the animal 

 that is about to pass from the hands of one 

 master to those of anotlier. There are few 

 trades in which there is more deception prac- 

 tised than in the one pursued by tlie horse- 

 dealer. " Beautiful as tlie animal is," says the 

 editor of The Horse, " and identified as he is 

 BO much with our pleasure and our profit, he 

 has been the object of almost universal regard ; 

 and there are few persons who do not pretend 

 to be somewhat competent judges of his form, 

 qualities, and worth. From the nobleman, 

 with his numerous and valuable stud, to the 

 meanest helper in the stable, and not ex- 

 cluding even the mechanic, who scarcely crosses, 

 or sits behind a horse once in a twelvemonth, 

 there is scarcely a man who would not be 

 offended if he were thought to be altogether 

 ignorant of horse-flesh. There is no subject 

 on which he is so positive ; there is no subject 

 on which, generally speaking, he is so deficient ; 

 and there are few horses, on some points of 

 which, these pretended and self-sufiicient judges 

 would not give a totally opposite opinion. 



"The truth is, that this supposed knowledge 

 is rarely founded on principle, or is the result 

 of the slightest acquaintance with the actual 

 structure of this animal, or that form and 

 connexion of parts, on which strength, or 

 fleetness, or stoutness, must necessarily de- 

 pend. If we were constructing or examining 

 a machine composed of levers and pullies, and 

 by which we purposed to raise a great weight, 

 or to set in motion certain bodies with a given 

 velocity, we should fail in our object, or ex- 

 pose our ignorance of the matter, if we were 

 not aware what kind of lever, or connexion of 

 levers was necessary, and in what situation 

 the ropes should be placed, and in what direc- 



tion the force should be applied, and by what 

 mt'ans we could obtain mechanical advantage, 

 and by what peculiar construction it would in- 

 evitably be lost." 



These observations show to us the necessity 

 of studying the anatomy of animals, before we 

 have any pretensions to be critically acquainted 

 with the cause of their powers. However, it 

 will be sufiicient for our general readers to 

 lay down the commonly received opinions on 

 points which constitute what may be considered 

 an eftective animal. 



As everything in nature is adapted to some 

 especial purpose, so has every horse its own 

 particularity. Horses, however, not only differ 

 in kind, but, like men, in utility, in temper, in 

 stamina, they also differ. The selection of 

 them, therefore, in regard to these particulars, 

 constitutes one of the nicest duties of the 

 judge or buyer, who must readily perceive good 

 or bad conformation; trace genealogy in the 

 outline, and discover their excellences and 

 their opposites with readiness and certainty. 



It requires some experience, but more at- 

 tentive observation, to be what is termed, in 

 equine phraseology, a good judge. To know 

 at once, at a glance, whether the nag is likely 

 to suit ; whether ho is cut out for a hackney, 

 or is calculated for harness, is a power which 

 only extensive observation and experience can 

 give. Does he look like a hunter, or has he 

 any good looks about him ? Does he show any 

 blood, or is he all over a mongrel 'i The man 

 who knows these things, we sliould recommend 

 to the uninitiated in the mysteries of horse- 

 dealing, to make purchases for them. 



At the risk of repeating ourselves a little, 

 we must here generally describe tlie outward 

 appearance of the horse again, in order to 

 bring this more directly under the notice of the 

 readers who may have the intention of pur- 

 chasing one. In the first place, the head 

 should be small. A large head is considered a 

 bad point, inasmuch as it really, under certain 

 circumstances, detracts from the powers of the 



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