Hints to purchasers of horses

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HINTS

TO PURCHASERS OF HORSES.

HINTS

TO

PURCHASERS

OP

HORSES.

*' Ne, si facies, ut sape, decora
MolU falta pede est, emptorem iuducat biaatem
Quitd pakbr% clunes, breve qu6d caput, ardua cervis.
Horace, Lib. I. Sat. 11.

LONDON :

PRINTED FOR CHARLES KNIGHT,
TikLUUAlt EAST*

LONDON:

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES,

Northuml»erlaDd.court.

PREFACE.

The following little Treatise is intended
to convey a correct idea of the proper
shape and action of the horse ; and also,
by pointing out the various imperfec-
tions to v^rhich he is subject, as well as
the best method of discovering those de-
fects, to render the purchase of the ani-
mal, usually considered an affair of
hazard, a matter of comparative security.

VI PREFACE.

In order to give full force to the fol-
lowing observations, certain expressions,
in use amongst horse-dealers, and per-
sons conversant vt^ith horses, have been
found indispensable ; which, not being
generally understood, are printed in
italics.

CONTENTS.

Page
Hints to Purchasers of Horses - - - i

POINTS REQUISITE TO FORM A PERFECT
HORSE.

The Head 3

Neck - - - - - - -4

Shoulders ------ 5

Back and Body ----- 6

Thighs and Hind- Leg's - - - - 7

Elbows and Fore -Legs - - - 7

Pasterns .--..-- 9

Feet 9

THE PACES OF THE HORSE, &c. &c.

The Walk - 11

The Trot - 12

The Gallop - - - - - - 13

Cutting- - - - - . - - 16

Colour 25

General Indications - - - - 35

Vlll CONTENTS.

Page

The Mouth - 27

Temper .,,„»- 33

Hot Horses - - - - - - 34

Slug-gish Horses - - - - - 36

Shyness .----- 37

Starting - - - - - - 38

DIRECTIONS TO PURCHASERS.

The Eyes ------ 40

The Age ----- - 43

The Jugular Vein - - - - - 48

The Position ----- 49

Knees - ^ - - - - 50

The Legs - 51

The Feet 54

The Hocks ----.- 57

The Hips 53

Shewing - 59

Lameness, how discovered ... 60

Fencing . - . - - . gi

String Halt - - - - - - 61

How a Horse should be shewn - - 62
Wind ----.-.63

Injurious Habits, &c. - - . - 07

Injuries of the Back - - - • 69

Conclusion ----»• 70

HINTS

PURCHASERS OF HORSES.

There are so many good horses of
comparatively different shapes, and
so many, which possessing the same
useful properties, are widely dif-
ferent in general appearance, that it
would be difficult to single out any
particular horse as the standard of
perfection.

Attention to the following points,
which are indispensably requisite
to form a perfect animal, will en-
able those who are fond of a horse,
to judge with accuracy of the good-
ness of his shape ; and, as he pos-
sesses these necessary qualifications
in a less, or a greater degree, to de-
cide that he is more or less distant
from that standard, of which I am
endeavouring to give what, I fear,
will prove an imperfect idea.

POINTS REQUISITE TO FORM
A PERFECT HORSE.

THE HEAD.

The head should be small, and
free from fleshiness ; not projecting
in front from the forehead down-
wards, (which is called Roman-nosed,)
but, if any thing, rather hollow in
that part, than otherwise; it should
be wide across the forehead, and
taper towards the muzzle, which
should be small and thin. The bot-
tom jaw should be wide underneath

B 2

at the junction with the neck, so
that the gullet may not be con-
fined. The nostrils should be large,
and open ; and the ears long. The
eyes should be lively, clear, and
bold, and placed well towards the
front of the head.

NECK.

The neck should be light, clean,
and hollow at the throat ; the crest
fine, firm, and arched at the top
just behind the head, and strong
and muscular at its union with the
shoulder.

SHOULDERS.

The shoulders should rise, and
run well into the back, so that,
when the animal is mounted, the
rider's toes may be behind its fore-
legs. The withers should not be
thin, but strong ; though quite
smooth, and free from lumps on
each side : the points of the shoul-
ders, most particularly, should be
light, and nicely rounded off. The
bosom should not be heavy, and
prominent, nor yet narrow and con-
fined.

6

BACK AND BODY.

The girth should be wide, and
deep. The loins should be broad,
and rising on each side of the spine ;
but the back-bone itself should not
be high, which is called roach-hacked.

The body should be deep, and
round in the ribs ; the hips should
be quite smooth, and the space very-
long from them to the root of the
tail, which should be almost in a
straight line with the back.

THIGHS AND HIND-LEGS.

The thighs should be large, and
muscular, and continue so to the
hocks, which should be large, lean,
bony joints ; and the leg should be
short from thence downwards. The
hind legs should stand well under
the top of the animal, and not with
the hocks bowed out behind him.

ELBOWS AND FORE-LEGS.

The elbows should stand square,
not jammed into the chest, nor yet
inclining out^wards. The arms
should be large, and muscular, like

8

the thighs, but should taper in a
shapely manner towards the knee.
The knees should be great, flat
joints, and not recede from the
straight line of the leg, (which shape
is called calf- knee' d.) The legs
should stand straight, not twisted
in, nor out at the ancles. The space
between knee and fetlock cannot
be too thick, too short, or too flat ;
and so clean, that you may see, or
at least feel, the suspensory ligament,
as it is called, clear, and distinct to
its roots.

PASTERNS.

The pasterns should not be small
in circumference, nor long, and
bending, as it were, with the ani-
mal's weight ; nor yet should they
be short and upright, but partaking
of the pliability of the former shape,
with the strength of the latter.

FEET.

The feet should be round, and
wide at the heels; the frog large,
and sound ; and the sole concave.

Yet, possessing these perfections
in shape, a horse is of no value un-

*-.

10

less a good mover; and I think
that a plain horse, when a good
goer, is far preferable to a fine
shaped one, with middling action.
This brings me next to mention

11

THE PACES OF THE HORSE.

THE WALK.

A horse, in his walk, should be-
gin by stepping boldly away, with
his knees well bent, and his foot up,
and placed down again flat; the
feet if any thing first ; with his hind
legs tucked close, and following his
fore legs regularly : he should not
go with a hind and fore leg of the
same side at a time, (which pace is
termed ambling,) but in exact, and
well-timed motion.

12

THE TROT.

The same is to be observed in his
trot ; the knee should be bent, and
the foot up, and sent straight fore-
ward, not dishing on either side.
The motion should be from the el-
bow, as well as the knee, for horses
that step from the knee alone, soon
tire themselves, and are always
slow, putting the foot down nearly
in the same place whence taken up.
The hocks also should be tucked
close together, and go well under
the animal, with the same regularity
which I mentioned as requisite in

13

the walk. The fore and hind legs
should go together, and not at twice,
as if the animal had a joint in its
back.

Observe, in all good trotters, the
the rider can see the knees at every
step without leaning forward in his
saddle.

THE GALLOP.

A horse, in his gallop, should not
go high, ^i\d fighting, with his knees
too much bent ; nor should his fore-
legs be confined ; they should be
put boldly forward, not confined,
and pottering, not romping, and

14

scrambling, but clear and straight
away from the elbow; with the
hind legs thrown well under him,
and not lolloping after him, making
him go all on his shoulders. The
gallop is a pace more used in the
field, than on the road, and hunters
are chosen more with reference to
it, than either to the walk or the
trot. Speed is quite indispensable
for a hunter ; and when hounds are
running fast, while a slow horse is
killing himself by going at the top of
his pace all the time, and conse-
quently at the utmost stretch and
exertion, a fast horse is going within

15

himself y and without either trouble
or distress.

Long slow stepping horses never
go well through deep ground ; and
they are equally bad across ridge,
and furrow. Those that roll in their
gallop are the same. Horses to live
across a country, should go with
quick collected steps ; they can then
get through dirt, and over ridge and
furrow, and can jump at very short
notice.

In the gallop, and indeed in all
paces, good use of the hind legs is
absolutely necessary ; for from these
all the spring is made ; and no horse

16

can possess either speed, safety, or
strength of action, without it.

CUTTING.

Here be it observed, a horse in all
his paces should go clear, and not
cut, or touch one leg with the other.
He cannot go too near if he does
not go to cut. Those horses go to cut
their fore-legs, that hook in their
heels ; when low actioned, and in
their slow paces, they hit their an-
cles ; and when high goers, and
moving fast they hit their knees ;
sometimes they hit midways, on the

17

splent bo7ie, between knee and ancle.
'Nothing is more objectionable than
such interfering action ; the wound
it inflicts creates always of necessity
inflammation and filling of the leg ;
and it frequently occasions a horse
to fall very suddenly. The act of
cutting with the hind legs, though
not of such consequence as with the
fore, makes the joints large, and
weakens them by the repeated sore
it occasions. Cutting behind re-
sults either from the hocks being
open and wide apart, in which case
the toe comes in contact with the

ancle ; or from the hocks being in-
c

18

clined too much inward, in this case
the end of the heel does the mis-
chief. There are very few horses
that do not hit their hind-legs some
time or other; particularly when
young, and weak, and often when
weary with long and great exertion.
But observe, those that cut from
natural causes, either behind or be-
fore, never receive any permanent
benefit from an alteration in shoe-
ing ; which method of remedy una-
voidably curtails the natural size,
and alters the natural shape of the
foot, and not only does not obviate
the imperfection, but, if persisted in,

19

occasions lameness in addition. 1
should strongly recommend that a
horse, who goes to cut his legs, be
rejected.

Those horses that dkh the foot
outwards, never cut their fore-legs ;
and though some judges do not con-
sider such method of going to be
perfect action, it is by no means
objectionable. Where coach-horses
and others worked upon the stones,
from the state of the pavement, ne-
cessarily slip and slide about, and
are unable to deliver their feet with
any degree of certainty, dishing the
foot outwards quite precludes the

C 2

20

possibility of hitting, notwithstand-
ing the difficulty they experience in
obtaining foot-hold.

It is also particularly desirable
that a horse in all his paces be a
quick stepper, and that he go very
lightly with his fore-legs, but hit the
ground hard with his hind-legs ; or
to use a horse-dealer's phrase, he
should trot over a street paved with
eggs without breaJcing one with his
fore-legs, but bore holes with his
Mud,

Horses with quick light action,
seldom wear their legs out, if they
are not used when too young, which

21

ruins all horses ; and the reason of
their lasting is, that they do not
hammer the ground, and shake
themselves all to pieces, which
heavy slow movers do, but going
free of all concussion, they do their
work without detriment to them-
selves, and with pleasure to their
riders.

But action is in a great degree
referable to the position and make
of the shoulders ; and having al-
ready mentioned what their shape
ought to be, I shall now give the
reason why it depends so much
upon their form and situation. In

22

the first place, when the shoulders
are low and upright, the weight the
animal carries is directly upon his
fore-legs ; it is not then to be won-
dered at, that he experiences diffi-
culty in using them lightly ; and as,
instead of being/rom /wm, they stand
quite under him, he has equal diffi-
culty in putting them forward. He
is therefore evidently more liable to
stumble ; and when he does trip, the
load he carries being almost more
forward than his fore-legs, prevents
him recovering himself, and down
he comes. When the shoulders are
themselves loaded at top, as well as

23

upright, there is a double imper-
fection ; for then there is a natural
weight, as well as the weight artifi-
cial ; and when they are loaded at
the points, they occasion great hea-
viness of action, and if the animal is
a high goer, he hits the ground so
much the more forcibly; the objec-
tion to which has been already
stated. Horses with bad shoulders
may go well for a short time ; but
after six or seven miles' journey they
begin to make mistakes, and as their
shape is not calculated for move-
ment, so their action cannot con-
tinue.

24^

Though the fore-legs, from their
very situation, always bear the
greatest portion of weight, yet,
when the shoulders lie back, more
of the weight is communicated to
the spine ; and being thus removed
from the fore-legs, they have less
impediment to motion, and their
position being then forward, is na-
turally more favourable to the office
they have to perform.

Good action may be considered
equivalent to strength. This is con-
firmed by the fact of many horses
with great substance, when bad
goers, failing in their joints; while

25

slighter horses with good action are
seldom found to give way, even car-
rying the same weight. Of this I
have seen very many instances;
which circumstance alone shews
how necessary it is that a horse be
a good goer.

COLOUR.

There is an old saying, '' a good
horse is never of a bad colour;'*
yet a whole coloured horse, that is,
without white, is esteemed the best.
Mealy-coloured horses are mostly
soft, as are blacks, and very light

26

chestnuts, with much white about
them.

GENERAL INDICATIONS.

A great body, and sheath, and
small head, indicate a good consti-
tution ; and a great head, and light
body the contrary. An experienced
person can tell a soft horse, or a hot
one, in a great degree, by the ex-
pression of the countenance : there
is a great deal evinced in the head,
which experience alone will enable
you to discriminate with advantage.

27

THE MOUTH.

Another indispensible requisite
is, that a horse have a good mouth,
and as this does not depend half so
much upon the mouth itself, as upon
the neck, and its junction with the
head and shoulder, I must repeat
what I have said upon that subject,
in order to explain how the mouth
depends upon its form and position.
First, it is requisite that the top of
the neck, behind the ears, be rather
arched, and the throat underneath
hollow, and free from fleshy sub-

28

stance : the head then is placed in
a situation to bend inwards ; but if
the top of the neck be straight, and
without the curvature, there is no
natural disposition to bend ; and if
at the same time it be stopped up at
the throat, how can it be acted upon
by the bridle ? it must remain fixed ;
and all chance of stopping a horse
with such a neck, is at the animal's
discretion, not at the will of the
rider.

It is no less necessary that the
neck be muscular at its union with
the shoulder ; for here it should re-
sist the actioa of the bridle. It is

29

only required that the head rein
well in to make a good mouth ;
and that is effected by the shape I
have just described. But if the
neck be weak at the shoulder, it
gives way the moment you pull at
the bridle, and up flies the head into
the air, and the ears into the rider's
mouth ; and if he try to stop the
horse in his gallop, particularly
down hill, the head is pulled quite
on one side, before he can make any
impression on the animal. This sort
of neck, weak at the shoulders,
and without the curvature at the
top, is what is termed an ewe-neck^

so

and is equally objectionable in point
of utility, as of appearance.

Horses with such shape are
obliged to be ridden in martingals,
in order artificially to produce the
effect of dropping the head to a go-
vernable situation. They are par-
ticularly dangerous in the field,
where good mouths are most essen-
tial; because when without mar-
tingals, they cannot see where they
are going, and are liable to fall at
every hedge, ditch, and furrow;
and when ridden with them, they
are always in danger of being pulled
into their fences.

31

When the formation of the neck
is such as I have described it ought
to be, the head is so placed, that it
is next to impossible the mouth
should be bad; and though there
are horses that do not answer the
bridle on one side of the mouth,
this is the eiFect of having been im-
properly bitted at first, and may, if
the animal be young, be easily re-
medied by a judicious application
of the breaking bits.

It is absurd to imagine, that by
placing a sharp piece of steel in the
mouth of a horse, you can bring his
head into a situation different from

S2

that in which nature has placed it,
and to which, from the muscular
conformation of the neck, it refuses
to submit ; you may place it under
temporary restraint by such means,
in the same manner that your own
body, or any part of it, may, by
some circumstance or other, be sub-
jected to an unnatural position ; but
as it is painful to you, so it is to the
animal ; and on that account we so
frequently see the mouth bleeding
under the influence of such severity.
I am not maintaining an opinion
that different bridles are improper,
or useless, for different horses ; or

33

that sharp bits are quite unneces-
sary ; I am merely affirming the im-
possibility of making a mouth good
by any bridle whatever, where the
head is placed on to the neck, or
the neck united to the shoulder,
improperly.

TEMPER.

The temper or disposition of a
horse ought also to be considered.

A horse should be perfectly do-
cile, and free from vicious propen-
sities. He should possess courage,
and mettle, without being hot, vio-

D

34

lent, or nervous. A vicious horse
is generally distinguished by the
expression of his eyes, which, in-
stead of being fixed upon objects
before him, are constantly glancing
backwards, as if the animal was in-
tent upon, or watching the mo-
tions of the rider, or persons about
him.

HOT HORSES.

A peculiar expression of the eye,
indicative of the disposition, exists
also in most horses that are hot
and violent ; a knowledge of which

35

cannot be fully communicated by
description, and must be acquired
by experience.

Hot horses are objectionable, be-
cause they are unpleasant to ride in.
company with others, and generally
fatigue themselves by their constant
and excessive irritability. They
very often refuse their food after
work ; and when in the stable listen
to the lease noise, particularly after
hunting ; and the sound of a horn,
the crack of a whip, or the barking
of a dog, throws them into a state
of great agitation.

D S

36

SLUGGISH HORSES.

Dull, sluggish horses, without
any mettle whatever, are generally-
good for nothing ; and it is less fa-
tiguing to walk, than to ride them.

I do not object to a horse being
rather lazy for a hunter, because
the cry of the hounds, and the com-
pany of other horses, exhilarate him
sufficiently, while pursuing the
sport, to render the constant appli-
cation of the spur unnecessary ; but
I should certainly object to such a
horse for other purposes.

A warm hackney is pleasant to

37

ride a journey on the road, or to go
a distance. He may fidget, and
pull for the first mile ; but after-
wards his warmth subsides into
freedom of going, and there is
nothing required but a still seat,
and a steady hand on the bridle.

These are the only exceptions to
be made in favour of either sluggish,
or of warm-tempered horses.

SHYNESS.

Many horses are shy, and cringe
when you approach them in the
stall : they also dislike being han-
dled, particularly about their heads,

38

This shyness results more frequent-
ly from their having been treated
harshly, than from any natural ti-
midity. Persons employed in the
management of young horses, too
often get out of temper with, and
abuse them ; and for want of a little
patience many animals are spoiled
for ever.

STARTING.

There are other horses that are
subject to start, and jump out of the
road at the sight of any new object.
They are often rendered worse by
bad riders, who v/hip and spuE

39

the animal the moment he takes
fright; the consequence is, that
when any thing unusual presents
itself^ they are not only alarmed at
the object itself, but are terrified at
the recollection of the treatment
they have received.

Having thus briefly shewn what
is requisite to constitute a good
horse, I shall add a few useful di-
rections to purchasers, which will
facilitate the examination of the
animal, and render the buyer less
liable to be imposed upon by the ad-
vantageous manner in which horses
are usually exhibited.

40

DIRECTIONS TO PURCHASERS.

Of course every man wishes for a
sound horse, without defect in wind,
limb, or sight. The various imper-
fections which occur in each I shall
endeavour to point out, and I begin
with the eye,

THE EYES.

When the animal about to be pur-
chased is at the stable door, before
he is brought out, examine his eyes ;
the light coming up'm them in that
situation- will enable yoa to discover

41

any defect that may exist. Re-
member both eyes must be in an
equal degree of light ; and regard-
ing this, observe that there be no
difference in the eyes, for if they be
not alike, one must be diseased. If
both eyes be clear, and hazel round
the pupil, and the pupil itself be
blue, and free from any white
specks termed cataracts ; if it con-
tract in the light, and dilate when
in the shade, you may conclude that
the eyes are good. If the eye be
blue round the pupil, or the pupil
itself be in the least degree affected
with cataracts, if it do not diminish.

42

or enlarge, as the light i.s more or
less upon it, in all these cases it is
a defective eye. All weeping,
cloudy, dull-looking eyes, are un-
sound ; and if there be the least ap-
pearance, in any way, of disease in
this very important organ, reject the
animal.

THE AGE.

l^exi examine the mouth to as-
certain the age. Yearlings and two-
year-olds are alike in mouth, and.
must be judged by general appear-
ance. At three years old, the horse.

43

has four horse teeth, two above, and'
two below, in front of the mouth,
which supply the place of the suck-
ing teeth. At four, he has eight
horse teeth^ four above, and four
below, having the corner teeth only
sucking teeth. At five years old
these are gone, and the mouth is up;
that is, all the teeth are horse teeth,
and the tusk is up on each side of
the mouth, A dark mark, or hol-
low, is generally observable in all
the teeth in the bottom jaw at just
five years old; and the tusks are
concave in their inner surface. At
six, the two middle teeth have quite

^^K:

lost this marl^, and the tusk is
higher up, and longer, and not so
concave. At seven, the next two
teeth have lost it, and the corner
teeth only have the mark left in
them. At eight it has grown out of
these, and no mark is left at all.
The tusks also become longer, and
instead of being concave in their in-
ner surface, become convex; the
horse is then termed aged. There
is a great deal of difference in the
mouths of horses : some have lost
the mark in all, except the corner
teeth, even as early as five years
old ; others have the front teeth in

45

the top jaw, projecting over the
bottom teeth, at the same age ; and
I have seen horses at seven years
old, v^ith the corner teeth appearing
like those of a five-year-old. You
may form some idea of the age from
the appearance of the mouth in ge-
neral, when the marks are no longer
visible. If the corner teeth do not
appear long, and running forward,
as it were, to the front of the mouth;
if they retain their square shape,
and shut well together; if the tusks
are not blunt, and have the least
concavity in their inner surface, you
may conclude that the horse is not

46

very old, particularly if his head be
not gray/ and not very hollov^ above
the eyes ; though this latter shape
sometimes exists in young horses.
A concave tusk is the most certain
criterion of youth; and as mares
have no tusk at all, they must be
judged with reference to what I
have said about the corner teeth.
It is here necessary to mention^ that
the difficulty of acquiring an accu-
rate knowledge of the age of horses
by their teeth, is very much in-
creased by the tricks that are prac-
tised.
It is generally allowed that no

47

horses are fit for work till at least
five years old ; and it is a common
custom with great breeders in the
north, and with many dealers, to
pull out the sacking teeth when
the animal is rising four years old ;
the mouth is forced by these means,
for the horse-teeth succeeding soon
after the operation, the animal ap-
pears to be a five-year-old. To
detect such deception, regard must
be paid to the tusk. Every horse,
upon attaining the full age of. five,
has the tusk completely up on each
side of the mouth; but in forced
five-year-old mouths the tusk is

48

only just making its way through
the gums. There frequently exists
also in the latter an irregularity in
the front teeth, as well as a back-
wardness in the growth of the tusk.
Forced mouths vary in their ap-
pearance according to the time of
performing the operation ; and the
habit of observing horses' mouths
will alone enable you to ascertain
where any artifice has been prac-
tised.

THE JUGULAR VEIN.

Mark that both jugular veins are
perfect, and that a free circulation

49

through them exists ; as there are
horses, which from having been un-
skilfully blooded, and from subse-
quent inflammation, have lost the
vein, a defect of some consequence.

THE POSITION,

When a horse is brought out, al-
low him to be placed with his fore-
legs up hill ; because if his joints be
at all bent over, or his legs shaken,
you will best discover it by such
position. Whenever the animal is
placed with his forelegs in a gutter,
or down hill ; or whenever the per-

E

50

son shewing him is continually pull-
ing at the bit to make him shift his
legs, that he may stand advantage-
ously, be assured that his joints are
impaired, and that he cannot stand
firmly.

KNEES.

As the horse stands, examine his
knees, and ascertain that no marks
exist in front of them. These marks
are generally the symptoms of his
having been down, and even were
they occasioned by other means
than falling, the blemish is the sam6.

51

and equally detracts from his value.
Next look inside the leg just under
the knee, and if any scars be visible,
or the hair stick up, you may con-
clude that he cuts in his speed, or
fast paces, Mark well that a similar
scar do not exist at the ancles, or
the hair appear brushed; for such
marks are solely produced by the
act of cutting, which, I before ob-
served, is generally a natural, and
therefore incurable defect in action.

THE LEGS.
Take notice that the legs should

E 2

52

not be tottering, and inclining for-
ward either at the knee, or ancle ;
and that the ancle joints should not
be large in front. The back sinews,
also, should not appear bowed out
behind, nor feel thick ; the symp-
toms of their having sustained some
injury. The legs should be flat,
and not round ; neither should they
feel soft and puffy; but wiri/ and
hard. Both legs should be alike ;
for if one be larger than the other,
it is an injured leg. Never buy a
horse with a big leg, for a sound
one, even though he be warranted.
You need not mind a splent, or bony

53

excrescence on the shank, unless it
be so situated as to interfere with
the suspensory ligament, or project
so much as to be hit with the other
leg in going. Ringbone-?, or enlarge-
ments on the pasterns and coronet,
are easily perceived from a diffe-
rence in the two legs ; as it rarely
occurs, even when both legs are af-
fected, that they are affected equally
Incipient ringbones will sometimes
produce lameness, even before they
are observable without very minute
inspection.

54

THE FEET.

Be particularly attentive to the
feet ; for according to the old say-
ing, no foot, no horse. First of all
observe that one foot should not
be less than the other; and that
they should not be indented, or hol-
low, round the crust. The crust it-
self should not be brittle, and broken
where the nails have been driven ;
nor should there exist in it any cir-
cular cracks, or longitudinal fissures
from the coronet downwards, which
last are termed sandcracks. The
heels should not be drawn together,

55

and contracted ; nor should the frog
be small and ragged, nor discharge a
foetid matter, which disease is called
a thrush. The horn at the heels
should be as high as the frog ; for if
lower, the heels will be liable to
corns; and the sole should neither
be flat, nor convex. It is obvious
no horse can continue sound with
these imperfections in the feet ; and
it frequently happens that horses
with very finely-formed feet, are
very lame from a hidden cause with-
in the hoof. Some Veterinary Sur-
geons consider such description of
foot-lameness hereditary ; but as it

56

is not my intention to treat of the
diseases of horses, I shall not enter
further into the subject. I should
strongly recommend the perusal of
Mr. Coleman's book on the foot of
the horse, as admirably calculated
to convey the fullest knowledge of
that very important part of the ani-
mal. If the legs and feet be smooth,
that is, free from the defects I have
iust mentioned, you may imagine
.that all is right in the fore part of
the horse.

67

THE HOCKS.

Next examine the hocks : observe
that, as you stand on either side of
them, there should not be any pro-
jection at the back of the joint called
a curb; and as you stand behind
them, that the inside of the joint
down below should be free from
little knots, or bony excrescences,
which are bone spavins ; and on look-
ing at them in a slanting direction,
that there should be no tumour
above, or blood spavin. Look down
between the horse's forelegs for
these defects, as it frequently hap-

58

pens that they are better seen from
that view. An enlargement of the
cap of the hock does not often
cause lameness, though it is a ble-
mish ; but enlargements on each
side of it, which upon pressure fluc-
tuate from the inside of the joint to
the outside, are termed thorough
pins, which are in fact windgalls, and
often cause very obstinate lameness.

THE HIPS.

Look that both hips be of the
same height, as horses are met with
having the defect termed doivn of a
hip.

m

SHEWING.

Having thus examined the horse
as he stands, let him be run down
slowly, on a rough, or stony decli-
vity, at the end of a halter, without
any support to his head, or any
whip near him. If he go boldly,
with his knees bent, and his foot
flat, and firm to the ground, without
dropping his head, you may con-
clude that he is sound before ; and
if, on running him up hill, he go
with his hocks regularly together,
and not dragging the toe, nor drop-
ping from the hip, you may buy him

60

as free from lameness. If he go
pottering on the toe, and feeling, I
should not recommend him to be
bought for a sound one.

LAMENESS ; HOW DISCOVERED.

Take notice, that in examining a
horse for lameness, you have only
to look at his ears ; for all horses
that are lame before, drop their
heads when they throw their weight
on to the sound leg ; and those that
are lame behind throw their heads
up when the sound leg comes to th$
ground.

61

FENCING.

Whenever a horse stands in the
stable fencing, that is, with a foot
out under the manger, it is a certain
sign that something exists uneasy
to him, and may give you just rea-
son to suspect unsoundness.

STRING HALT.

String halt, or a singularly high
motion, or twitching up of the hind
legs, is too glaring to escape obser-
vation; it does not constitute un-
soundness, though it lessens a

62

horse's value. Bone spavins not
unfrequently occasion a similar Dl^-*nA^i,ixj
thod of going.

HOW A HORSE SHOULD BE SHEWN.

Always have the horse you are
about to purchase shewn quietly ;
because, when he is agitated, a
slight lameness may escape your
observation; and always see him
ridden, that you may judge how he
loears himself, and how he uses his
legs and feet; for many horses are
pleasant to ride, that are unpleasant

63

to look at when ridden ; and dealers
never fail to put you immediately
upon their backs, when their riding
is pleasanter in the feel, than in the
appearance, I may here also men-
tion, that whatever pace the horse,
when you see him ridden, is con-
tinually kept in, that pace is his
best; and whatever he is hurried
out of, he cannot do at all, or be
well assured that no opportunity
would be lost of exhibiting it.

WIND.

With regard to wind, some horses

64

naturally possess greater freedom
of breathing than others; for in-
stance, a horse with large open nos-
trils, a wide gullet, a rather short
neck, and a deep, wide chest, has
generally superior wind, to one with
the contrary shape. There are two
kinds of disease injurious to the
wind; one is an affection of the
windpipe, which creates whistling
and roaring ; the other, an affection
of the lungs, which produces broken
wind.

The usual way to discover the
first of these imperfections, is, to go

65

up to the animal in the stall ; and
taking fast hold of his head, flourish
a stick about him suddenly, or
strike him; if he groan he is a
roarer. But this method will not
detect a mere lohistler : the surest
way, therefore, is to gallop the horse
with a bridle tightly curbed, and
at the same time agitate him as
much as possible. If he make a
wheezing noise, or blow with the
same kind of sound as is produced
by blowing upon a knife placed be-^
fore one's mouth, he is not sound in
his wind. The state of the wind is
frequently ascertained, and with
p

66

great accuracy, by the sound of the
cough ; and in the following manner.
Grasp the windpipe at the throat
tightly, and then immediately let go
the hold; the horse is sure to
cough. If he cough bulli/, that is,
if the cough sound like the lowing
of a bull, the disease I just men-
tioned is in existence. If he cough
short and hacking, the lungs are af-
fected, and he is broken icinded;
but if the cough be long, and shrill,
the wind is good. Be careful to
leave hold of the windpipe the mo*
ment you have compressed it ; for
if you hold it long, the horse will

67

cough shrill, even if he have imper*
feet wind.

Always gallop a horse as well as
make him cough; though a horse
with the roaring, or the short cough,
should be rejected immediately.

By making a horse cough, ano-
ther advantage arises; vi^,, that
you may discover if he be affected
with a cold ; in which case, upon
compressing the windpipe, he will
cough repeatedly.

INJURIOUS HABITS.

Crib-biting is a bad habit to which
many horses are addicted. It con-

F 2

68

sists in taking hold of the manger,
and at the same time drawing in the
breath, accompanied with a gulping
noise. The effect of it is loss of
flesh and condition in the animal,
and sometimes injury of the wind.

Wind-sucking is nearly the same,
only without taking hold of the
manger.

As these habits are not always
discoverable during the short time
you are in a dealer's stable, it is ad-
visable to have the horse you are
about to purchase warranted free
from these defects, in addition to
the warrantry of soundness, as the

69

latter does not provide against
them.

It is also prudent id have the
horse v^arranted free from restive-
ness ; though you may discover this
by riding him several times past his
own stable-door ; if he be restive,
he will manifest his self-will by en-
deavouring to turn in, and rearing
if you attempt to prevent him.

INJURIES OF THE BACK.

Injuries of the back, which are
not unfrequent, are discovered by
backing the animal ; and if he per-
form the retrograde motion with any

70

the least degree of difficulty, he
has experienced some serious dorsal
injury.

There are other imperfections
which I need not mention, as none
but the lowest description of persons
would keep for sale horses possess-
ing them.

CONCLUSION.

1 shall therefore conclude with
advising all persons, as the surest
way to be fortunate with horses,
always to buy those that are young
and sound ; without blemish, with

71

good action, and most particularly
with good mouths ; as one of the
first things to be observed is, that a
horse bend to his bridle. You may-
just as well ride a pig, as a horse
without a mouth; and a wooden
horse, as one without action. Be
assured, if your horses be purchased
with attention to these directions,
and you should be at any time, from
unforeseen circumstances, compel-
led to offer them for sale unexpect-
edly, they will meet with plenty of
customers.

Never encumber yourself with
screws ; they require more attention

72

than sound horses; they do less
work ; are worth nothing for sale ;
but contribute to lessen the opinion
of your judgment, and bring your
stable into confirmed disrepute.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY W. CLOWES,

Nortbuinbcrland'eotifU

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