DEALERS' TRICKS 121 



wildly around, sobbing and drawing, he is a whistler or 

 piper. A good gallop is the best test for both broken- 

 winded and roaring horses. Examine both forelegs, and 

 if there are many bony deposits such as ring-bones, 

 splints, side-bones, or the hoof contracted and of bad 

 shape, and yet the animal moves soundly, be suspicious 

 of " unnerving." Take an ordinary pin and prick the 

 legs. If the horse fails to move and cannot feel, be 

 sure he has been " undone," or " unpropped," as the 

 copers term it, and don't buy him. If the horse has a 

 sleepy-looking appearance, examine his hind legs for 

 fullness and capped hocks ; if you discover his hind legs 

 are blemished be sure he is a kicker and has been spiffed 

 or drugged. This is done by giving a one-ounce ball of 

 chloral hydrate or one ounce of tincture of opium — a 

 very favourite trick of London copers. 



When speaking of horse-coping, I use the term 

 "Charting." No doubt my readers have read attrac- 

 tive advertisements in the papers of the following 

 style : 



" For Sale. — A pair of handsome Chestnut Geldings, 

 seven years old. Quiet in single and double harness, 

 regularly driven together, winners of many prizes. 

 Property of a gentleman. Every warranty and trial 

 given. — Apply Coachman ." 



