CHOOSING A HORSE 47 



the English horses legs stand the rough ground as 

 well as the Arab or Waler. Still, a light English 

 horse with quality ought to do well, and I hope to 

 take one out when I go to India next : somewhat 

 bigger than a polo pony, but without the weight 

 of a hunter. 



Now to turn to the buying. The first thing is 

 to find a man without guile from whom to buy. 

 You may, of course, buy privately, or through the 

 Pioneer, from Native Cavalry regiments, from the 

 Remount Depots, or from the big dealers in the 

 presidency towns. 



The secret of all buying is not to have to buy in 

 a hurry. If you have to buy several animals to 

 start work at once you are likely to take some 

 makeshifts. The man to be envied is he who has 

 the capital available, and buys when he sees exactly 

 the right animal in the market. 



Always see your horse before you buy him : a 

 friend's choice is seldom satisfactory. I buy a 

 good many horses for various people. I get 

 their epistolary thanks, and occasionally a candid 

 opinion. " I hope you like the horse," I wired. 

 Back came the answer, " He's a brute." 



I dislike buying " made " horses, and seldom 

 do so. I bought a horse said to be a good pig- 

 sticker once. Just before he was sold he was badly 

 cut by a pig ; his wound was raw when I bought 

 him. The seller did not know it, but this had made 

 him unstaunch for life. I rode him in the Kadir. 

 He would not go near a pig, and I was never in the 

 hunt. My friends (I did not know I had so many) 

 protested they could not think what I was doing 

 with the horse. They deafened me with the noise 

 of his former exploits. " What a hunt A had 



