BUYING HORSES 37 



light immediately below the knee should be re- 

 jected without hesitation. Long weak pasterns 

 or upright pasterns should of course be rejected 

 and the man who buys a horse with odd forefeet 

 is asking for trouble and generally gets it. 



To see whether a horse stands correctly ex- 

 amine him from both sides and from in front and 

 behind him, and be careful to stand directly 

 behind him when he begins to move. You will 

 learn more about him then in a few minutes^ if 

 you keep your eyes open and your ears shut, than 

 in half a day's examination from any other stand- 

 point. 



It is unnecessary to go into detail over the 

 more obvious faults which horses possess, but it 

 remains to say a word or two about unsoundness 

 and vice. No man now need experience the 

 troubles which attended his ancestors in their 

 horse buying. Most horses are sold subject to 

 a veterinary surgeon's examination and that of 

 course decides the question of soundness. Mis- 

 takes are seldom made in passing horses, and if 

 there is any mistake it is generally in rejecting a 

 workably sound horse. 



The purchaser should always insist on a per- 

 sonal trial. Some horses that are by no means 

 vicious resent the handling of some men, and 

 when that is the case a pleasant ride is an impossi- 

 bility. But there is no difficulty about getting a 

 sufficient trial of a horse's manners nowadays, and 

 a man ought to be able to tell whether a horse 

 will suit him or not after riding him for an hour. 



