158 THE STUD. 



ings/' shows how wonderfully safe on their legs 

 horses must be, in a general way. 



On a horse being shown for sale with marked 

 knees, there is always some story told in excuse 

 of the accident. I have heard it gravely affirmed 

 that he had done it against the manger. This is, 

 of course, the veriest nonsense, horses are not 

 such fools as voluntarily to thus hurt themselves ; 

 in ninety-nine cases in a hundred, knees are broken 

 by falling on them, but if they are, does one fall 

 show a horse to be unsafe. iSIany things may 

 cause the safest animal that ever wore a shoe to 

 fall ; we need, therefore, no excuse for such an 

 occurrence. On seeing a horse with marked 

 knees, I should never take the trouble of asking 

 how he did it, but I should ask to see him go ; 

 if he went well, I should care nothing lioic he 

 broke his knees ; if he went unsafely, and they 

 showed me a certificate from the Lord Chancellor 

 that the horse had not broken them by a fall, I 

 would reject him, for I should feel quite certain 

 that, granting he had not broken them this time 

 by a fall, he very soon would break them again 

 by one, and that probably would not be the last. 



If, therefore, the reader wishes to purchase a 

 horse at a deteriorated price, he has three chief 

 points to look at : the state and position of the 

 legs, the same of the feet, and the action; if all 

 are good, as an animal for use, I assure him he 



