10 THE COMPLETE FARRIER. 



if his temper be good, it greatly augments his value, and if bad, it 

 exposes him to many accidents. It is difficult to discover the temper 

 of a horse without a proper trial, which should always be obtained, 

 if possible. Fear is an impediment which greatly lessens the value 

 of a horse ; for a fearful horse endangers both himself and his rider. 

 Almost every day affords us melancholy instances' of persons being 

 hurt or killed by fearful horses; and many horses are utterly spoiled 

 by accidents that happen from their fearfuiness. A fearful horse may 

 be known at first sight by his starting, crouching, and creeping. 



A hot and fretful horse is also to be avoided, but the buyer should 

 be careful to distinguish between a hot, fretful horse, and one that is 

 eager and craving. The former begins to fret the moment he is out 

 of the stable, and continues in that humor till he has quite fatigued 

 himself; and the latter only endeavors to be foremost in the field, 

 and is truly valuable; he has those qualities that resemble prudence 

 and courage ; the other those that resemble intemperate heat and 

 rashness. 



When dealers have had a horse some time in their stables, they 



exercise him with a whip two or three times a day ; so that when a 



Chapman goes to look at him, they have only to stir their hand with 



the whip in it, and it is hard to say whether the horse be lame or not, 



it being so fearful of a drubbing, that a good judge may be deceived. 



& horse that goes with his fore feet low is very apt to stumble ; 



and there are some that go so near the ground that they stumble 



most on even roads ; and the dealers, to remedy this, put heavy shoes 



on their feet, for the heavier a horse's shoes are the higher he will 



lift his feet. Care also should be taken that the horse does not cut 



one leg with the other. A horse that goes near the ground will cut 



the low side of the fetlock joint, but one that goes high cuts below the 



knee, which is called the speedy cut. A horse that lifts his feet high, 



generally trots fast, but is not the easiest for the rider. Some horses 



cut with the spurn of the foot, and some with the heel , but this you 



may soon perceive by their standing ; for if a horse points the front 



of his foot inward, he cuts with the spurn, and if outward, with the 



heel. 



These few instructions may be of use in purchasing horses ; but I 

 advise every One to get some experimental knowledge of them before 

 he trusts to his own judgment, for the dealers have so many arts to 

 hide the defects of their horses, that the best judges are often deceived. 



A COLD. 



This is such a common disease, that many people look upon it 

 with indifference ; but there are few disorders incident to horses which 

 do not more or less derive their origin from a Cold. But, as only those 

 who are used to horses can tell when they have got this disease, it 

 will be necessary to describe the nature of a cold, and the usual symp- 

 toms that attend it. 



Causes of Colos. — These are various ; but the most usual are, 

 riding the horse till he is hot, and then suffering him to stand still, 



