The Horse by Isaac Phillips Roberts

Author:Isaac Phillips Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Macmillan company
Published: 1905-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

he wanted to inspect the stallion. "No," he said, "I have inspected his colts." So the beginner should inspect the get of a horse, if possible, before he patronizes him.

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CHAPTER XV

JUDGING HORSES

The purchaser should know something of the ancestors of the animal under consideration, as a horse may have inherited characteristics and specialized qualities which cannot be discovered until the animal has been used for some time. Only in rare cases has the purchaser an opportunity before buying to drive the horse enough to discover all of its desirable or undesirable qualities, or its probable future development. Therefore, the breedng of the animal, or, in other words, the pedigree, written or unwritten, should be fairly well known, when possible.

The selling of horses gives the owner great opportunity to indulge in exaggerated statements, even to misrepresent and to skilfully conceal defects and the true age of the horse without becoming legally liable. The seller may offer to guarantee the animal to be sound and free from vicious habits; but even then there are usually loopholes left in the guarantee through which the seller may crawl by the aid of a lawyer, if he leave his conscience behind. It is often wise first to investigate the pedigree of the nmn offering a horse for sale before looking up the history and pedigree of the horse, especially if he has bred and raised the animal under consideration.

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If the animal has passed through many hands, remaining with no owner any considerable length of time, it is safe to conclude that there is some radical fault or blemish which is not easily discoverable. If a horse is purchased of a thoroughly reliable dealer or breeder, it is only fair that something of the price of the animal be considered as representing the reputation of the seller. One can afford to pay more for a purchase from a well-known, reputable horseman than from a stranger.

The horse should be led out of the stable slowl3^ While this is being done, stand at some little distance in front of the animal. Little defects, such as slight lameness, may be detected if the animal is not excited. Some horsemen make it a practice to excite their horses, even when standing in the stalls, by sharp words and a liberal use of the whip. All this tends to make the horse hold his head high, to forget for the time the pain in an unsound foot or limb, and to appear alert, spirited and beautiful. These little tricks of the trade are sometimes seen at professional horse sales.

In judging horses, four ideas are paramount: ability to perform the service desired, reliability, endurance, and symmetry and beauty of form. True service consists in using energy economically, that it may give satisfaction to the owner, whether the energy be expended in moving heavy loads or in covering the greatest distance in the shortest possible time. Horses, then, should be selected with the view of securing the results desired in the most economical manner.

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