HANDBOOK OF THE TURF; 157 



Letters. Worn on the arms of drivers, equally with 

 figures, to indicate the positions of the horses they drive or 

 ride in a heat or race. 



Level. A horse is said to trot level when he goes square 

 and perfect, with no forging, cutting, interfering or striking; 

 the perfection of the trotting gait. 



Levers. The branches of a bit. 



Liability. [Law.] A horse breaker or trainer is liable 

 for any damage which, through his negligence, may happen to 

 tlie horse which he is handling. 



Lien. [Law.] It has been held that where a horse was 

 sold, payment being made by check, and the horse placed in 

 the hands of a third party till the check was cashed, as it was 

 dishonored, the vendor had not given up possession. No con- 

 ditional or temporary arrangement by which the buyer gets 

 possession of a horse will forfeit the seller's lien. An auc- 

 tioneer has a lien on the price of a horse when paid for his 

 charges and commissions, and may bring an action in his own 

 name therefor. Where the rules of a repository or mart pro- 

 vide that in certain cases of dispute the horse shall be tried by 

 an impartial person, and the expense of trial in case the horse 

 does not answer his warranty is to fall on the seller, fhe keeper 

 of the repository has a specific lien on the horse until such 

 expense is paid. A farrier has a lien upon a horse for his 

 charges, which covers, however, only the work done at the 

 particular time. It does not cover any previous account. The 

 horse breaker, by whose skill the horse is rendered manageable, 

 has a lien upon him for his charges, which is favored by the 

 law, being consistent with the principles of natural equity. A 

 stable keeper or trainer has a lien for the keep and exercise of 

 a horse sent to him for the purjDose of being trained, and the 

 lien extends to the labor and skill employed on a race horse by 

 a trainer; but if, by usage or contract, the owner send the 

 horse to run at any race he chooses and select the jockey, the 

 trainer has no continuing right of possession and consequently 

 no lien. A stallion is entitled to a specific lien on the mare 

 for the charge of service. A livery stable keeper cannot detain 

 a horse for his keep, as an inn keeper may, because he is not 

 obliged to take it. An agister has no lien on horses taken to 

 pasture on a contract at so much per head per week; but 

 whsre there is an agreement to that effect he has a lien. 

 "Where a party went to an inn with two race horses and a groom, in the 

 character of a guest, and tliey remained at tlie inn for several 

 months, taking tlie horses out every dav for exercise and training, 

 and being occasionally absent for several days together at races in 

 different parts of the country, but always with the intention of 



