BUYING A HORSE 65 



blisters. Among stable-men it is termed " chinked in the 

 chine," or, ricked in the back. 



A remarkable indication of diseased spine sometimes 

 shows itself ; the horse dropping Avhen turned suddenly in 

 the trot, the hinder quarters appearing paralysed. 



There are many blemishes and defects that render a hack 

 unserviceable, which are of little or no consequence in 

 harness. The greatest virtue in a gig horse is steadiness, 

 which can only be ascertained by trial, and do not trust 

 to the steadiness he evinces while the reins are in his 

 owner's hands. The author of that capital work, "The 

 Adventures of a Gentleman in Search of a Horse," truly says : 

 " Whoever buys a stanhope horse without first driving him 

 himself, is a lit subject for a commission of lunacy ; it is not 

 enough to put him in the break, he should be harnessed at 

 once to the stanhope, and it is prudent to observe how he 

 bears the ceremony of harnessing, and what kind of a start 

 he makes. Much may be predicted of his qualifications for 

 draught, or at all events his familiarity with the collar, by 

 the degree of quiet with which he allows himself to be put 

 to. If the ostler runs alonojside of him at settino: off, as is 

 often the case, you may be sure the horse is distrusted ; if 

 you distrust it yourself, have nothing to do with him." 



The Eyes. — The examination thus far completed, the 

 horse should be returned to the stable for the purpose of 

 examining his eyes, the most favourable position for which 

 is about half a foot within the stable door. There should 

 be no back or side lights, or the rays falling between the 

 eyes of the examiner and those of the animal will interfere 

 with distinct observation. The head should be so placed 

 that a moderate light may fall on the eye of the horse, and 

 the quantity of light can be easily regulated by bringing 

 the horse's head more or less forward, until placed in the 

 most favourable angle of incidence. 



Though anyone may detect absolute blindness, yet the 

 eye of the horse is susceptible of so many diseases, in 

 which defective vision or partial blindness is present long 

 before the sight is lust, that it requires more observation 

 than most people imagine; indeed, a person unacquainted 

 with the structure of the eye, and the different appearances 

 it assumes, will not perceive it at all. There are certain forms 

 of the eye, and structural peculiarities, that show a consti- 

 tutional predisposition to disease. Small sleepy eyes, of 



