Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-02-20
HORSES.
Some Hints About Them Which May In
terest the Average Driver.

Some Hints About Them Which May In
tercst tho Average Driver.
Have l time to give you few re-
marks about horscsp Why, certainly
don't you know that a man always has
time to talk politics or hosp You
don't expect me to give away any
tricks of the trade. Well, ant
not that there aren't plenty of tricks in
the horse trade, but we're established
here with good reputation and we
have to deal squa rely; so we leave the
funny business to gypsies and other
outside dealers. We have to study
buyer often and humor him good deal,
especially the chap who doesn't know
any more about horse than horse
knows about him. If man really
knows something about horse we can
deal with him comfortably enough, but
the chap who only knows horse books
he's the daisy to deal with. He'll
twirl his eyeglasses and ask Latin
questions enough to paralyze first
class veterinary surgeon. We can
always pick out the man who is buying
his first horse and he 5 another daisy
He'll pound the horse all over, muss
his kid gloves trying 10 open his mouth
for age marks; and then come the
questions: Is he free driver, speedy,
gentle if driven by women or childrenP
Will he stand without being tiedp Is he
afraid of bands of music, steam-cars or
whistlesp Is he apt to shy or kick or
balk? In fact, he seems to want to
buy cheap horse-angel!
"You see it's as hard to find long
combination of good traits in horse as
it is in man. Any horse that is tough
and sound enough to be n free driver
with good speed is pretty sure to have
some little kinks that horseman
wouldn't mind at all. OF course, no.
body wants an outright kicker, or other
gets bad reputation through the ig-
norance Of the driver. Take shying, for
instance; horse isn't near as nervous
as most humans. He quite naturally
notices an unusual object and expresses
his surprise by a variation in gait or
side jump. Now the first thing amateur
drivers think it best to do in this case is
to yell at the beast and give him slash
or two with the whip. Well, the horse
thinks-oh. you may laugh, but he
does think all the same-well, he
thinks his driver is frightened, too, and
that he has double reason to be
scared, and perhaps runs away. Who
knows, he may do it with the intention
| of putting himself and driver in a place
of safety! Now a horse never SHES
without notifying watchful driver. If
a cause is in front of him, lie will throw
an ear sharply in that direction; if be-
hind, he will point an ear inquiringly
back; then, an experienced driver, who
| ought always to be on the lookout, at
once gets ready to hold him and at the
same time reasSures him with calm,
firm, stable word or two that he is used
| to. Yes, sir, any horse that can see is
likely to shy; and when any one tells
you he will not it will be about as near
the truth as that hostler or waiter who
told Mr.. Pickwick that his horse
wouldn't shy if he vas to meet vaggin
load of monkeys With their tails burnt
Off That's the funniest horse story /
ever read oh, you've read it, have
youp Good.
"Speak of furnishing a horse; always
be careful about using whip on a
horse you don't know; see how differ
emily horses take whipping; Just like
youngsters-some will tremble and lose
their spirit, others will become stub
born and balk, q spunky one will jump
right out of your hands, and you might
not get him back time enough to save q
broken wagon or head. And here's
bad practice you ought to speak of, the
lighting of those snappy parlor-matches
on wheel-tire; many u horse has been
startled in that way. Smoking on
horseback is very bad practice. A
caused many riders broken bones or bad
bruises.
"What Is the best color for a horsep
Well, that is about as much matter of
taste as Importance. To be sure, few
persons want calico or circus horse,
as the boys call them, nor do they want
n conspicuous cream-colored animal.
White horses arc Objectionable because
they become unsightly in muddy
weather. Sorrels, bays and the darker
hues are the most popular, and they are
more easily matched than light ones.
Grays. iron-grays and roans have set
tied reputation for strength and tough
ness-but you might fill big book with
conceits and traditions about the marks
and colors of horses. Some traditions
have much weight in the estimation of
a horse; one of the strongest is:
Four white feet and u whito nose,
Out on his hide, give him TO the crows.
81 suppose that idea about feet has
been handed along for centuries from
Oriental horsemen; an old Eastern
translation says:
Ono white foot, buy him;
Two white feet, try him!
Three white feet look well about himl
-Four white feet do without him.
"The Turks regard white forefeet as
lucky; one white fore and hind foot un-
lucky.
"Do / think the clipping of horses
cruel9 Well, it depends upon the horse
and also on the owner. A sound, strong
horse that is driven for pleasure only.
that can be given fine feed. careful
grooming, heavy blankets and light
stable, wouldn' be apt to suffer badly.
He really does dry of better after
speeding than an unclipped horse iu
cold weather under such circumstances
] think it's mistake to clip the average
working horse. ."-Boston Badget.
4 lNtlI;a., II4..I, - Do..I:.. u