42 How to Purchase a Horse. 



CHAPTER IV. 

 HOW TO PURCHASE A HORSE. 



Hack or Riding Horse— The Ladies' Horse— The Hunter— Carriage Horse- 

 Horses for light harness — Horses for heavy harness — Cobs and Ponies — 

 Defects, diseases, and faults to be avoided in all Horses. 



To the inexperienced the purchase of a horse is a matter 

 of some little difficulty and risk, and the object of this book 

 is to throw out some few hints to enable the intending pur- 

 chaser to ascertain first what sort of a horse he requires 

 (not always an easy task), then the best and safest way to 

 buy him, and the best and most economical way to pre- 

 serve him in health and condition to perform the duties 

 required of him. 



And first I must caution all purchasers against a very 

 common fault — that of wanting and expecting to find per- 

 fection in any horse : there is no such thing either in man 

 or horse ; all that can be done is to select one as nearly 

 as possible approaching the standard required. As in 

 everything " a little knowledge is a dangerous thing/' it 

 is particularly so in all relating to the purchase and man- 

 agement of the horse. The in experienced purchaser should 

 therefore place himself either in the hands of an experi- 

 enced friend or respectable dealer, and unless he knows 

 something of an animal previously, be very cautious in pur- 

 chasing at the sales by auction, or from advertisements, 

 however flatteringly described, and seemingly fair in allow- 

 ing trials, &c. The great demand for horses, both at home 

 and abroad, during the last few years has raised the price 

 at least fifty per cent., and in some classes to even more 

 than that. 



There are several highly respectable dealers in London 5 

 and generally one at least in most large towns in the coun- 

 try, to whom an intending purchaser may apply, and who, 

 on his stating the sort of horse he requires, and the pur- 

 pose for which he requires him, will show him some from 

 which he may make a selection, the dealer guaranteeing the 



