The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1880-07-09
HOW TO BUY A HORSE.

brought out do not allow nun 70 Do
jockeyed in his PAGES. Take your
standu1 sonb Adb Il Ale rnadrahN -
him walk naturally and quietly by,
other side. Now Stand behind and
have him walk. or IN, front Hf,you and
from You; then turn and Walk toward
you" Observe nhe goes freely aud
easily and plants his hind feet in the
tracks Of his fore feet. Next, have him
trotted by-you;-xnd baclak-assd forth,
watching his action CkoseIys3piM
Now look at his eyes and make a
motion. Wit JoAf H9nR toward them,
as If you intended to strike. If he
winks quickly, or draws. tho head back,
the vision may be depended on general
ly as good, and no blindness In him.
The eyes should be moderately, prom.
inent. 6unken eyes are apt to get
blind as the horse grows old and often
characterize vicious temper. Elk
amineit,6 teeth and see that cti1ey are
sound, strongly set and even.
Look at his Eoue; degs aud notice If he
has strong knee joints, and that they
are not sprung. Examine the hind
legs closely above and below the hooks
for any swellings,S and especially for
curbs and spavins. Now look at all
the pastern joints and SEQ II clear Of
cuts from interfering, or if there are
any scars on them In consequence OF
this. The pasterns1 should be rather
short for a carriage-horse, and not
much sioping. Iffhe latter, and long
and elastic, they are apt to give opt
at hard pull. In race-horse such
pasterns are less Objectionable. In a
heavy draft animal they ARE uDpar.
donable.
Tho feet are often passed over, but
a Thorough examinatipn of these is of
the utmost Importance. They should
be reasonably large, the hoofs clear and
tough, free from cracks, NOT shelly, and
we'll set up at the heels, otherwise they
will soon wear down on pavement or
hard roads, and, the horse becomes
footsore. If always to be kept In the
country to work on a farm or dirt 1Oods
low heels are not so, objectionable
lastly, regard the inside of the hoofs
and see that they are free from corns,
and that there is gopd-sized frog to
soften the Jar to the leg when the foot
stamps on the ground. aeE.
A pony-built horse is the best for
working in harness, while a more
rangy-bodied, one, with longer legs
these should not; be So long asl to be
liable to weak ness, The legs, from the
hooks and knees down, ia, all horses
should be rather short than long.
If the tail lifts hard and stiff it Is usu-
ally an evidence of a strong back and
quArtsrs.r o Il it Hftss quite timber and
easily the reverse is apt to be the case.
As to the age this Is readily told by
they aFe Eb,sSoted: S:R & 1susi st
jockeys to call. u horse eight when he
is all the way from ten to twenty but
an adept can give a pretty shrewd
guess as to ttis, for after ten years old
the eyes begin 70 sink, gray. hairs come
into the head, and there is want of
youthful look and vivacity. riu.s'9iiar
After.all, there y a great risk in buy
ing a horse, even from an owner who
is truthful and honestly disposed to
i he is re IS sess ss Sc
or of SSSiHent ;dtssaseav shich may Re
sale. ~ ios etfs slsss.s fapsi SSsin
hidin4e aR, A(lRSsea pvNRine Up
, %Seii &4th ss eSls &C., ~ sy ass
the very smarteet and most Knowing
one gets cheated easily by one much
more skirtlnl thar himself I'm showing
Oft horse. 1t is only after using a
horse for months that pretty much all
that there is IN him can be found out,
and we haye known unexpected faults
and vices to turn up utter POSSESSING
one ZOE years. - - ~ .l.Iyr 81 Itj.'I
In the city stables SO many horses
are kept under the same roof, and there
is such a whnt Of proper ventilation
that "pink eyer and tho "horse dis
temper are often prevalent there, or
if n0zshownRtu tho NuSeSof pufchase,
these break out soon after. It is safest
to buy horse Immediately upon his
arrival in town, before he has chance
to get diseased, and before the sellers
have time to Hslitk him up.,' Never
mind a dirty coat and rough looks !;
you. can clean the former and, smooth
the latter without risk to the animal
as soon as you get home, and AFTER this
he will probably show twenty-five to
to fifty per cent, better than ~ hen you
bought him. One rather thin In flesh
is safer to buy than when Tit, for this
covers bad points, and whenr-worn
down Ao6ieA1Rat a rather haesaHasar-
ing horse turns out to besvefy COM
m on.looking.-R.s,ul Ne.of YoskSs'.f =