132 THE HORSE. 



but which, I hope, does not in the present days, at 

 least, not in so great a degree or so usually, disgrace 

 the conduct of our dealers. I refer to the daily, too 

 probably almost hourly, attendance of a fellow with 

 a whip, who flogs and cuts the horses up and down 

 in their stalls, causing them to jump and fly about 

 as if mad, keeping them in such a constant state of 

 miserable apprehension, that they dread the approach 

 of any human being. The motive of this was to 

 render them active, ready, and lively on a show, and 

 to hide defects ; and, as an exaggeration of this mon- 

 strous barbarity, the unfortunate cripples had even 

 an additional share of this discipline, being whipped 

 and beat most cruelly for putting out, in order to 

 ease, a crippled limb. I vouch as an eye witness. 

 It was a constant practice at the repositories, with the 

 poor worn out machiners and post hacks, and I have 

 related, in my old treatise, the case of a beautiful 

 mare, so totally worn out, that every step she took 

 was obviously attended with acute torture, whipped, 

 and cut, and beat, and checked with the curb, with all 

 the force that a powerful ruffian could exert, whilst 

 the tears were dropping from her sightless eyes ! The 

 intervention of more than fifty years has not allayed 

 my suffering at this sight, which seemed not to attract 

 even the notice of any other, among numerous spec- 

 tators ; but I am not ashamed to acknowledge that, 

 whilst I now write, and at this distance of time, my heart 

 is agonized at the recollection ! This was some time 

 before the sale began, and the most disabled of the 

 horses were led out in order to receive the habitual 

 discipline. I ought not to omit that, however the fact 



