38 FOREIGN MARKETS FOR AMERICAN HORSES. 



side. They are packed into the ship so closely that it is impossible 

 for them to lie down during transportation, and when they arrive at 

 the other side they are, of course, very stiff, more or less bruised and 

 nibbed, and are really not ready to be offered for sale in the retail 

 market for at least ten days. The principal losses at sea are caused 

 by injudicious feeding and lack of careful attention to the horses. 

 The attendant should notice them with great care, and if their bowels 

 or kidneys fail to act regularly he should promptly administer proper 

 medicines, as otherwise the horse will soon be in a condition beyond 

 successful treatment. 



In Hamburg there is a tax of $5 a head, and it costs about 50 cents 

 a head to land the horses and transport them to the sales stables. 

 The charges in Hamburg for keeping a horse are about $1 a day for 

 the first two days, about 75 cents a day if they remain a week, and 

 about 50 cents a day if they remain longer; this latter, however, by 

 special contract. Unless an American has made a number of ship- 

 ments and is thoroughly familiar with the details of the business, it 

 is necessary for him to employ the services of a broker or commis- 

 sioner who will look after the landing and transportation of the horses 

 to the stables, the payment of the local tax, and the loading of the 

 horses on the railroad cars. The railroad cars are arranged to carry 

 6 horses each, but by careful packing a person can put 10 head of 

 smaller horses into each car. An attendant should accompany the 

 train. The rates are fixed and are proportional to the distance the 

 horses are shipped. 



Horses can be boarded at towns in the interior at about 65 cents a 

 day, and by careful contracting a person can have them kept for 60 

 cents a day. 



All horses shipped to Germany go through a process of acclimation 

 and are subject to what the Germans call "druse," a species of dis- 

 temper which attacks the animal in various forms. Unless neglected, 

 it is not fatal, but it incapacitates a horse for work and unfits it for 

 exhibition purposes until after the attack. The attack usually lasts 

 only a week or ten days, though the horse may be invalided from it 

 for several weeks. It is quite a serious trouble. 



There is another difficulty about the transportation of horses which 

 can scarcely be overcome. The horses are affected differently by the 

 ocean trip; the hair changes color in quite a perceptible degree, and 

 one horse may lose flesh while another will gain, so that a man can 

 not be certain that a pair of horses quite perfectly matched in New 

 York will be matched when ready for sale on the other side of the 

 ocean. We were compelled to break up several well-matched teams 

 on this account. 



In regard to the colors of horses, the favorite color is bay without 

 markings; the white horse is substantially unsalable, and a gray horse 

 is difficult to sell. Black horses should be shipped with long manes 

 and tails. The demand for them is limited. They are used princi- 



