ADVICE TO BUYERS. 59 



intermediate defects that we find most difficulty in dis- 

 covering. 



The criterion by wliicli dealers judge of the state of a 

 horse's wind is by no means a bad one — they make the 

 horse cough by pinching or grasping the top of the wind- 

 pipe ; if the lungs are in that state which constitutes 

 broken-wind, or if they are approaching to that state, the 

 sound of the cough is so peculiar that it cannot well be 

 mistaken — it is short and husky, exactly like that of an 

 asthmatic person. When this kind of cough is observed, 

 the horse should be rejected, even if the motion of the 

 flanks appear perfectly easy and regular. '^ I have known," 

 says Mr. Spooner, '' in several instances, broken-wind ap- 

 parently cured, by keeping a horse at grass ; that is, he 

 seemed to breathe with ease, and did not cough when mod- 

 erately exercised, but by pinching the throat there was 

 that peculiar cough, and by keeping him in the stable a 

 iQVf days he became as bad as ever." 



It is advisable, therefore, for those who have occasion to 

 purchase horses, to make themselves familiar with the 

 sound of this asthmatic or broken-winded cough; there 

 will be no difficulty in this, as the complaint is very com- 

 mon, and horses are more liable to coughs than other 

 domestic animals. The complaint is sometimes of little 

 importance, and with care, easily removed ; it often proves, 

 however, extremely obstinate, and not unfrequently in- 

 curable. 



When a horse is observed to have a cough at the time 

 of purchase, it is necessary to inquire whether it be a re- 

 cent complaint, or one of long standing ; and this is a point 

 that cannot be always easily determined. 



In the old, or chronic cough, as it is termed, the horse 

 generally appears lively, feeds heartily, and appears in 



