SWAPPING HORSES AND HORSE JOCKEY TRICKS. 291 



A third has a good horse with the exception that he is un- 

 willing to stand while he gets into the buggy, so he, becoming 

 disgusted with him, trades him off for one that is quite willing 

 to stand while he gets in and gets well fixed, but is unwilling 

 to start when he is all ready to go. 



Another has a very good horse, he says, but which does not 

 quite suit because it paws in the stable, and failing to cure it 

 of that habit he swaps for one that is perfectly quiet in the 

 stable, and for that matter is very quiet in all other places and 

 especially so when wanted to be otherwise. 



Another has an excellent mare, he claims, only " she has a 

 touch of the heaves," and requires her food to be moistened 

 every time, for if fed to her in a dry condition she will cough 

 and otherwise show signs of distress ; so he swaps her off for 

 one that has no heaves, but the second or third night he has 

 her she knocks the side of his barn off during a fit. 



And yet another has a beautiful gray mare all right in 

 every particular, only that when she sheds her coat in the 

 spring for the matter of two or three weeks he gets covered 

 with white hairs and he don't like it, and declares he will get 

 rid of her before another shedding time comes ; so he swaps 

 her for a " dark horse " that not only sheds just as many hairs 

 on his owner's coat, but of color that does not show just as 

 plainly, and proves himself a veritable " dark horse " in many 

 ways. 



How often have I known a good horse traded for one not 

 worth half as much as the one traded, just to get rid of one 

 fault, and how often have I seen the man who made such a . 

 trade so sick of his bargain as to be really miserable for weeks. 



Many years ago I made up my mind that perfection in a 

 horse has not nor never will be attained, whatever may have 

 been preached or written to the contrary. When you show 

 me a perfect horse (or a perfect man, even), then I will proba- 

 bly confess that I know but little about horses or men. 



I do not wish to be understood to advise against horse-trad- 

 ing or horse-dealing but simply to warn the general farmer or 



