BUYING PRIVATELY. 67 



more risk in the former than there is in the latter mode 

 of buying. There is no secret so close as that between 

 the rider and his horse, and a horse which appears 

 to be a fairly useful hunter may have some bad fault 

 which its owner has been able to hide, and which he is 

 not likely to disclose to a possible purchaser. Many 

 good-looking horses are tremendous flatcatchers, and 

 possibly there is nothing so irritating as to give a fair 

 price for a horse which seems suitable in every way, 

 and yet is likely to shut up after galloping over four 

 fields. And yet there are many horses of this class, 

 and one I knew of who went into four different countries 

 at big figures in a single season before his real character 

 became known. He was a big-boned and very handsome 

 horse, had perfect manners, and always carried a lot of 

 condition. He had won many hunter prizes as a four 

 and five year old at country shows, and his breeder 

 sold him for a long price to a man who had a bad fall 

 (from another horse) immediately afterwards. The 

 upshot was that this horse had an easy time of it during 

 what should have been his first regular season, and his 

 new owner was never on his back until late in the 

 spring. He then rode him on one or two days of poor 

 sport, entered him for a point to point, and offered me 

 the mount. I said I would like to try the horse first, 

 and he was sent to a certain meet of hounds, w^here I 

 got on to him just as hounds went away from a small 

 gorse. Immediately in front was a fine grass country, 

 and no covert for a couple of miles, but hounds ran 

 very hard, and the show horse was in difficulties after 

 going for less than ten minutes. I was glad to get rid of 

 liim at the first check, and I afterwards told the owner 



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