HOW TO BUY A HORSE 25 



makes mistakes at the commencement of his career, 

 and few men, indeed, who have had extended trans- 

 actions in horse flesh can candidly lay their hands 

 upon their hearts and declare that they have not had 

 reason to regret some^ at least, of their earlier 

 bargains. One golden rule to bear in mind in pur- 

 chasing a horse is never to trust to your own impres- 

 sions as regards his soundness. The devices of 

 some sellers are so ingenious that experienced men 

 are liable to be deceived, and therefore the novice 

 has no chance whatever in their hands. Conse- 

 quently, let it be urged once more that the veterinary 

 surgeon's fee is money well spent ; but remember 

 always that the opinions of some professional men 

 are worth a great deal more than others when the 

 soundness of a horse is under consideration. 



If a horse is required to be used for saddle pur- 

 poses, see that he has a good, long, sloping pair of 

 shoulders laying well back at the withers. Choose 

 an animal with plenty of depth of chest, a powerful 

 level back, long enough to carry the saddle comfort- 

 ably without cramming it on the top of the withers 

 in front or on the quarters behind. Seek for fore- 

 legs placed well under him, good shapely knees, 

 lengthy pasterns and healthy feet. A tucked-up 

 loin is to be avoided, as is a short neck, but the 

 quarters should be long and powerful, the thighs 

 muscular, and the hocks clean, flexible, and neither 

 turned in nor out. An intelligent head is also a 

 point to be sought for particularly in a saddle horse, 

 as a sensible, good-tempered beast is usually a safe 

 conveyance, whereas a sour dispositioned, lethargic 

 animal is precisely the reverse. The last, but by no 

 means the least important point to be paid attention 

 to, is the position of the fore feet, the toes of which 

 should point straight in front of the animal, neither 

 in nor out, as either of the latter formations are 

 serious defects in a saddle horse. The question of 



