HOW TO BUY A HORSE 29 



or private individual, and engage him to act as 

 commissioner. A fixed price should be stated, and 

 out of this the agent may have to pay himself or 

 not, as arranged, whilst an undertaking to add a 

 further douceur if the animal turns out satisfactory, 

 will usually have the effect of stimulating the efforts 

 of the person instructed with the commission. In a 

 paper like the Live Stock Journal, many extensive 

 horsebreeders are in the habit of advertising what 

 animals they have for disposal, and in the columns 

 of this periodical the novice may very possibly see a 

 reference to the sort of animal that may suit him. 

 It is always best to deal direct with the producer 

 when possible, as the profits of the middleman are 

 thereby saved, and if, as suggested above, the novice 

 has a good adviser at his elbow, he will probably be 

 better served by doing so than by adopting any 

 other means^ unless of course he happens to know of 

 a horse that is likely to suit him, and takes the wise 

 precaution of having the animal vetted before finally 

 completing the purchase. 



The price of a horse may be briefly stated to be 

 just what he will fetch, and the novice who wishes 

 to become an owner may consider himself to be a 

 very lucky man if he succeeds in obtaining a bargain 

 the first time of asking. He should consider himself 

 fortunate if, acting upon his own judgment, he gets 

 what he wants at a fair price, but he may bear in 

 mind that a good useful horse at a fairly long price 

 is a very much cheaper animal than a screw at half 

 the money. . The omnibus companies are content to 

 pay an average of forty odd pounds apiece for horses, 

 whilst the Government price for remounts is very 

 much the same, and the class of horses that are 

 serviceable for such purposes is scarcely adapted, 

 useful though they be, for the use of gentlefolk who 

 take a pride in the appearance of their animals, 

 though at the same time it may be admitted that 



