34 PURCHASING FROM TH.E STABLES, 



MANNER OF GOING. 



Having finished your examination, view him in a 

 canter. He should go wide behind* and close before, 

 skimming the ground with his two fore feet, like a 

 true daisy-cutter ; but whether in the gallop, trot, or 

 walk, he must on no account step short ; the feet 

 must be lifted with a kind of spring, and brought 

 firm and flat to the ground. There never was a 

 truer passage in a book, than that the safety of a 

 horse depends a great deal more on the manner in 

 which he brings his feet to the ground than on that 

 in which he lifts them up. 



You should not conclude your bargain yet, till you 

 have mounted. The dealers, if you are a light 

 weight, will always allow you a five minutes' walk, 

 trot, and canter, in front of the stables, and that is 

 as much as any man ought to ask, or get. If the 

 fore feet are not lifted light, quick, and airy, but feel 

 to stick or dwell long on the ground, he has been 

 overweighted, and his action ruined, or there is some- 

 thing wrong in the chest, or feet. 



PRICE. 



If you are now purchasing for the turf, you will 

 pay from eight to fifteen hundred rupees, according 

 to age, caste, shape, &c., and your own knowledge of 

 making a bargain. You should never exceed fifteen 

 hundred for an untried horse, however promising he 



* If the hocks turn out, and the toes turn in, described under hocks as most 

 faulty make, he will of course go wide with his hocks ; that is, if he goes at all, 

 which is doubtful : but hang such wide-going as this ! 



