Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-01-16
Buying n Horse.


feel sure of his purchase is necessarily
an expert. There are more chances for
deception in horse trade likely, than
there are In any other traffic. A sue
cessiul dealer in horsefesh generally
learns his trade by years OF experiences
VIII ch is USUALLY quite expensive. Then.
too, he must be very familiar with the
horse, its habits and its ailments. Few
men Who have attempted it can say
they were never beaten at 8 horse
trade.
There seems to be no exact standard
by which to judge q god horse. Long
horses have been speedy and short
horses have been speedy. Tail horses
have shown good qualitIes on the road,
and SO have shortlegged ones. There
are, however, certain rules and laws Of
hy.ie which may be studied and con-
suited in making an equine purchase.
The horse-buyer must remember
that horse-fesh Is subject to exactly
the same disease that man is. HE
has headache, earache, toothache,
fever and all other ailment," as a veter-
mary surgeon expressed it to the writer.
Internal ailments can seldom be dis
covered by any other than a veterinary
surgeon expressed. There are surface
Indications, however. which are easily
discernjble, and should always be
looked for by horse buyer, whether
an amateur or a professional, One
point the amateur might make in pur.
chasing horse is this: 'Never buy a
horse from a man you do not know.
In buying horse, said aprofessiona!
in the business, "always take him when
he is cold-that ID, when the animal is
fresh from the stiDie. In this way
you may discover lameness, which will
as away when the horse warns up,
but winch, nevertheless, is a very bad
point. No man will buy horse if he
nnows it. Ii there are any too great
curves about the animal, such as a
sway back, a man who Is ut all familiar
with the horse will easily discover them
String halt or depressed hip will also
be discovered. The eyes must always
be examined, for while a blind horse is
not useles, one with Perfect vision Is
much more desirable. The teeth, too,
always come ii for their share of ia
specuop, but they are not always II
guide ualess the buyer is well up in his
business, for a trader who so wishes
eau make them yery deceitful. By FL
ing aud process kno xn as bishoping,
an old horse that has seen nearly a
score OF years can he given a set of
teeth which will pass with many as
those of u tive-year-old."
"In buying a horse lcok part culariy
at his legs. See that he Is not pint
cred in the fore legs orspayiaed behind.
| These diseases are those OF the bone,
and affect horse about the back joint
The lone goes through a process of
malformation, causing a swelling and
stiffoess, which are usually very evident
to the horseman. A similar diseate or
affiiclion peculiar to the horse, which
must also be- looked for, is rlngbole.
This much resembl SPAWN, and is
found Just above the hoof on either the
fore CT hiud legs Of the animal, and also
produces swelling aad In time lame-
ness.
another thing that must be looked at
in uying horse Is the glanders. A
horse that Is afflicted with that plague
you might as well Kill. He Is incur
Die and will transmit it to all tine
ANIMALS with which he comes il con-
tao. Fortunately it is not a very COM
mon disease. The symptoms of it are
very cancerous sores IN the nostriIs an
at times q very dsagreeable discharge
As stated above, there is no criterion
by which to buy horse for speed. La
proof OF this will cite you ouple OF
Instances. Some time ago horse was
fought IN the Fifth street market for
street car purposes He was driven on
the Elm street line for q long time for
long time, and nothing unusual was
noticed about him until oae day, when
having been accidentally hItched to a
buggy, il was discovered that he could
spin mis- mile in about 2:50, and was
much too valuable to be driven to q
street car,