DEFECTIVE WIND. 59 



order to give him a fair chance, make sure his 

 stomach Is not distended by a recent quantity of 

 hay and water, and then put him for half an 

 hour to such work as you want him for. If he 

 does this freely and without distress, buy him ; 

 if not, reject him at any -price. 



I must, however, apprise such a supposed pur- 

 chaser, that, to form any accurate estimate of 

 the animal's fitness for such work, it would be 

 quite necessary to be satisfied how he had been 

 treated, for at least a few days before his trial. 

 For supposing, on one hand, he had been groomed, 

 or rather tended, by an ignorant lout, he might 

 have permitted the horse to eat as much hay and 

 drink as much water as he pleased, which, with a 

 bad-winded one, would be in considerable quan- 

 tities, more particularly the water ; such a horse 

 might, therefore, be found much worse than he 

 would be if properly treated ; thus, in such a case, 

 a useful animal might be rejected. Whereas, on 

 the other hand, if, knowing the horse was to be 

 tried, he had been kept for three or four days 

 on wet oats and bran only, in very moderate 

 quantities, no hay, and little or perhaps no water, 

 he certainly would, in a temporary way, perform 

 his trial with less distress than he would on even 

 proper general feeding. Such treatment would 

 enable the horse to breathe more freely than usual, 

 it is true ; but, if persevered in, would so reduce 



