BUYING AND SELLING HORSES 181 



Irish horse dealer has said to me, "' but they'll 

 go in all shapes. ' No 'ocks no 'unter,' Jorrocks 

 says, and there I am with him, but myself I do 

 like a middle piece. No tummy, no stayer, would 

 be my verdict. When I get off one horse and have 

 to pull up the girths three or four holes on the 

 next, I am not inclined to buy." 



There are fell diseases which are little known. 

 One is weed, when the hind legs fill and swell until 

 the horse can hardly move. 



I was walking down Limerick one fair day when 

 a very smart cob trotted by, up to fifteen and 

 sixteen stone, and Donovan hailed the man. The 

 cob belonged to a man who smilingly averred 

 it a good hunter and quite sound for hunting. 

 It was blemished on the off fore. The price 

 was low and Donovan said he would take it, 

 stopping me to ask me if I would stable it for the 

 night. 



It came up, but next morning could not move 

 and had to be almost pushed to the train. Five 

 hours' exercise must have been necessary to get 

 the leg down to do an astute dealer. 



But the man who treats you fairly is the man 

 you go back to, so it reaUy pays in the end for a 

 man to be moderately honest, except in a fair 

 where the buying world is fair game. 



A very common trick is to mention a fictitious 

 fault to take off the real one. A friend of mine 

 always bought horses which had a fault, hard 



