/* 



HOW TO BUY AND SELL. 101 



Let, then, mercy go hand in hand with firmness and 

 justice, always remembering that horses are not innately 

 vicious : they derive whatever vice they ever have from the 

 impolicy or cruelty of their users and attendants; but 

 when any one bad trick thus acquired has become a con- 

 firmed bad habit, it is a VICE. 



PKICE. 



It is frequently believed, that when a certain price, 

 varying in amount according to the different notions of 

 different people, is paid for a horse, and that price is 

 accepted by the vendor, a warranty is implied. The ab- 

 surdity of such a conclusion is evident from what may be 

 deduced from the preceding pages, inasmuch, as we have 

 therein seen that most useful horses may fail to come up 

 to the strict standard of soundness, while some of the 

 most worthless and useless are strictly entitled to such 

 a warranty. 



This view is strengthened by the fact that, while no 

 used or second-hand horse exists which has not a bar to 

 a warranty for soundness, yet, not unfrequently, several 

 thousand dollars are given for a horse on account of its 

 well-known superior qualities and usefulness. A dis- 

 tinct kind of warranty for horses of this class is, there- 

 fore, a great desideratum. 



A horse which, contrary to his natural normal con- 

 dition, can seldom do one day's very hard work without 

 for ever after bearing evidence thereof, can yet do 

 an immense amount of work continuously for several 

 years, in a satisfactory way, and free from lameness and 

 other inconveniences. A horse, however, that has never 

 done any work, but shgws similar " structure " or symp- 

 toms, must be looked upon with suspicion, and ought to 

 be called, as in most instances he is, UNSOUND. 



