246 CONFESSIONS OF A HOUSE DEALER. 



and, rising in his stirrups, strike him, with all his 

 might, between the ears, as he will say, " to cure the 

 hrute," and thus lay the foundation for a case of poll- 

 evil. 



13th. He will irritate and punish a high-couraged 

 horse, merely for the sake of showing himself off as a 

 rider, notwithstanding that the action and capers of the 

 horse are so easy that he would not shake a fly off his 

 back. 



14th. He will take especial care to exclude every 

 breath of air from the stable, lest it should make the 

 horse's coat rough, and give him more trouble to groom it. 



15th. In harnessing his carriage horses, he will per- 

 sist in reining them up so tight with the bearing rein, 

 that they cannot see to avoid uneven places, or loose 

 stones in the road ; and if they make a slight stumble, 

 they must of necessity come down, because they have 

 not the free use of their head to assist them in keeping 

 on their legs, and, when down, they have to struggle 

 hard to get up again, for want of freedom in their neck 

 and head, so necessary to propel their fore-hands for- 

 ward to stretch out their legs, and so place their fore- 

 feet on the ground as a lever, to raise their hind quar- 

 ters. No opinion is more erroneous, and none more 

 believed by conceited servants, than that a bearing rein 

 will prevent a horse from falling. 



16th. He will scarcely miss a week without cram- 

 ning alterative or condition balls down his horse's 

 throats, made up from his own or brother chip's pre 



