PURcnASiKo.] MODERN VETEEINAUT PRACTICE. [pubcdasixo. 



his master. Tho farmer was equally pleased ; 

 but on a litllo closer exam innt ion, ho found 

 tlmt poor Jolui had been duped by sharpers. 

 The notes paid him were a ten-pound note 

 and a five-guinea note— of banks which had 

 stopped payment— and a one-pound Dorset- 

 shire note, altered into ten. John attempted 

 to trace the swindlers, but without sueeoss. 

 The same gan^ passed a ten-pound note of a 

 bank that had stopped nearly fifty years before. 

 There seems some fatality connected with 

 hor.-e-Hesh, that immediately leads to roguery. 

 Yv'e never heard of any directions given for the 

 purchase of a horse, but that among the first 

 cautions was, "never buy one of a friend." 

 Such seems the overwhelming contamination 

 of this traffic, that friendship itself is no secu- 

 rity against rascality ; and the moment a man 

 has one to sell, some degree of suspicion seems 

 to attach itself to him. Tho horse-dealer 

 seems almost, by common conpcut, to be placed 

 out of the pale of respectability; and if his 

 conduct were in a parallel with his character, 

 he would be a most accomplished deceiver. 



A. dealer in a large way has generally a stock 

 of horses on hand, from which it may be easy 

 to select. If not, his general resources are 

 such, that he can very quickly supply any per- 

 son with what he wants. To the uninitiated 

 in buying horses, a respectable dealer is the 

 most eligible party to transact business with. 

 "When we reflect on the catalogue of dis- 

 eases, imperfections, and vices to which a horse 

 may be liable, and which is left to the tyro to 

 discover, the risk he runs in making a purchase 

 is immense. Although he may give a good 

 price for a horse, even more than its value, 

 still he runs less risk in buying from a re- 

 spectable dealer than from strangers. If he 

 may have paid a top price, he is unlikely to 

 be so cheated as he might be by the chaunling 

 tribe. The dealer has a residence ; and if there 

 be anything to complain of, he knows where to 

 find him. It is natural to suppose that a dealer 

 has an opportunity of selling a horse at a 

 better price than most other individuals ; and 

 it being his trade, it is but reasonable that he 

 should have his profit. Therefore, in recom- 

 mending a tyro to commence his buying from 

 a dealer, we do so on account of believing it to 

 be the least hazardous of any other; for we 

 will not indulge the aspirant after knowledge 



of the horao in tho hoj)o that ho may gain it 

 without sulfering some pecuniary losses, as well 

 as disappointment. 



After he has gained some experience, it will 

 bo quite time enough for him to enter the 

 bazaars and repositories, to trade on his own 

 judgment ; and if he has a taste for the pursuit, 

 he will not rest satisfied till he has matured 

 that judgment to such an extent as to find 

 pleasure as well as profit in exercising it. 



Dealers never like to take a horse back ; and 

 when this is done, the purchaser must expect 

 to make some considerable sacrifice. No man 

 likes to return money for any article that lio 

 may have sold in his shop ; but to a dealer in 

 horses, it is particularly objectionable. Per- 

 sons who discover a horse returned, may natu- 

 rally enough suppose that it was from some 

 fault; and although the fact might be from 

 some sheer caprice, still his value would be 

 decreased in the opinion of those who knew it ; 

 and before he can be sold for his former value, 

 he must wait till a stranger comes, who may 

 know nothing of his being a returned horse. 

 Persons conversant with buying and selling 

 horses never think of returning them, unless 

 from unsoundness ; but the unskilled, or those 

 who are not in the habit of disposing of horses, 

 may naturally apply to the party to take them 

 back again, and think him, perhaps, an unfair 

 dealer if he refuses, on their allowing him a 

 few guineas to boot. The fact is, a quick 

 return is the very soul of horse-dealing; for 

 without it, the expense soon eats the profits 

 up. A fresh horse is more likely to meet with 

 a purchaser than such as have lain longer in 

 the stables. Hence the dealer's repugnance to 

 returned horses. 



In looking out for a horse in a dealer's 

 stables, the attention of some attendant is soon 

 attracted, when he will endeavour to put the 

 horses into a fidgetty state by his presence, in 

 all probability with a whip in his hand. But 

 this should, at once, be checked. The object 

 is to see the animal in a state of repose, and 

 as far from any exciting causes as possible. It 

 may be difiicult to take a quiet survey; for 

 the attendant is not always obedient, but will 

 often persevere in exciting what is wished to 

 be seen in a quiescent state ; and sometimes 

 parties desirous of purchasing are compelled 

 to leave the stables in disgust. 



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