30 PURCHASING FROM THE STABLES. 



something wrong, either a recent hurt, or, more pro- 

 bably, some old-standing tenderness. A dealer in 

 England will prevent your seeing this, by not placing 

 such a horse in a loose stall ; but in India it is gene- 

 rally boldly exhibited ; and I once heard the cause 

 equally as boldly accounted for. The buyer asked, 

 "what makes him stand in that awkward position, 

 with one leg pointed forward T " Oh," replied the 

 seller, " that is merely in consequence of the short- 

 ness of his neck ; he could not reach his grass easily 

 otherwise,* many of the Arabs have short necks." 

 The innocent victim, who was a native of the Scilly 

 Isles, appeared quite satisfied with this answer, and 

 giving another look at the neck, said, it appeared to 

 his eye of very good proportion, and concluded the 

 bargain. This was one of the worst kind of the long, 

 horizontal, flat-soled feet.t 



THE TESTICLES, ETC. 



Look up at the testicles : they should be small and 

 closely hung up. Swollen testicles are very common, 

 and may prove a considerable drawback to his speed. 

 The testicles, even when not enlarged, are sometimes 



* This is sometimes however actually the case, particularly in leggy 

 colts. ED. 



*h I have myself had two horses with perfect feet ; one had been shod for 

 two or three years ; the other was a colt, and never shod. The feet of both 

 these were small, but very wide at the heels ; the horn was of the proper 

 depth, neither too high nor too low at this part, and of that fine greyish 

 black, Oxford-mixture colour. Neither of them without shoes, over hard 

 ground, moderately ridden, ever went tender or made a false step. 



Some persons, who have paid dearly for purchasing a horse with contracted 

 heels, instead of running into the proper opposite, one with open heels, search 

 for nothing but a large spreading foot ; hence their second bargain is nearly 

 as bad as their first ; for a large spreading foot is almost always a weak and 

 a flat foot : moreover, a large spreading foot is most tin favourable for spe'ed. 



