424 POINTS. 



ever fresh or however tired they may be, never strike or cut. The 

 quadruped which a gentleman desires, is one that does not contain evi- 

 dences of a liability to accident or to disease. He wishes for a sound 



AN EXAQOERATED VIEW OF A WEAK ANIMAL, WITH DANGEROUS ACTION. 



animal; and one disposed to strike certainly cannot, in the author's 

 opinion, be so esteemed. Every man wants a horse for service ; but the 

 creature which may at any moment receive a wound that shall incapaci- 

 tate, assuredly cannot be esteemed a serviceable possession, in any 

 meaning of the words. 



While examining the legs, the gentleman should also notice the shoes 

 upon the different feet. If these are rusty, the fact demonstrates that 

 the horse has been wearing wet swabs, and has been long stationary in 

 the stable. The circumstance is suspicious. In horse dealing a justifia- 

 ble suspicion is always acted upon as an established fact. If the shoes 

 are of rude make and much worn, it looks badly ; and though it is no 

 recommendation, it justifies no inference. But if the shoes be thicker at 



