HINTS TO THE PURCHASERS OF HORSES. 383 



If a person, inexperienced in the mysteries of horse-dealing, 

 wish to purchase a horse, he woukl do well to consult a profes- 

 sional man, or some one capable of guarding him against any 

 deception that might he attem])tcd, and of pointing out any de- 

 fects there may be of too obscure a nature to attract his notice. 

 When such assistance cannot be procured, the following hints 

 may, perliaps, be found useful. 



It would be useless to attempt a minute examination of a 

 horse while the dealer or his assistants are present: the sloping 

 ground upon which the horse stands for examination gives a 

 deceptive view of his form and height, while the constant fear 

 he feels of the whip, and the high-flown panegyrics lavished 

 upon him, are so perplexing to a person unaccustomed to the 

 business, that he is apt to overlook the most palpable defects ; 

 nor is it possible for the most experienced to examine him with 

 all the accuracy and attention that are necessary ; as an unob- 

 served flourish of the whip or some other private hint from the 

 seller, keeps the horse constantly in motion, particularly when 

 the eye happens to be directed to a part that he docs not wish to 

 be inspected. I do not mean to say that this is always the case; 

 there are many dealers, no doubt, of strict integrity, who afford 

 ample opportunity to those who wish to examine their horses ; 

 and, so far from wishing to practise any deception upon the in- 

 experienced, will never warrant a horse to be sound unless they 

 are convinced that he is really so ; but that there are men in the 

 business who have recourse to a variety of tricks to deceive the 

 unwary, is too notorious to be doubted. It is advisable, there- 

 fore, after taking a general view of the animal, so as to be satis- 

 fied with respect to his figure and action, to ride him off to 

 some convenient place, where he may be examined without in- 

 terruption. 



The first and most important point to be inquired into is the 

 state of the feet and limbs, and whether the horse be in any 

 deo-ree lame or not. And though he appear perfectly fii-m and 

 free from lameness in all Ins paces, it will be necessary to inspect 

 carefully the feet and limbs, lest there be any defect, which at 

 some future period may occasion lameness. It is a fact pretty 

 well known to horse-dealers*, that a slight degree of lameness 



* In a book piiblisbed a few years since, on this subject, by j\Ir. R. Law- 

 rence, he observes, that there are two kinds of horse-dealers — the common, 

 and the o-entleman dealer — and that there is this distinction between them : 

 " the former is obliged to warrant a horse sound before he can sell him ; 

 whereas the latter simply avers that he believes the horse to be sound, but that 

 it is not his custom to give a warranty. Thus, the first is bound by law ; the 

 latter by honour; nevertheless, there are some eccentric and narroiv-minded 

 purchasers, who, in spite of the numerous bright examples of modern honour, 

 prefer the former mode of dealing to the latter." 



