Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-04-17
GOOD POINTS OF A HORSE.
rh. Eye aud the Head show che Ami.
mails Nature.

Henry Childs Merwin has n paper in
tho Century on The Horse Market"
from which the following is extracted:
And this brings us to consider what
AZ the marks of a good, serviceable
no Sse, such as most people want to buy.
Tle chief points are the eye and head;
70 whether on the score of safety or of
p .asure in ownership, the essential
thing is TO have a horse that is intelli-
CANT aud gentle, or n that is intelli-
gent aud vicious. rather than stupid,
for stupid horses are the most danger
Gus of all. Every horse shows his char
acter in his head, and chiefly in the eye,
Just as certainly as a man shows his
character in his face; although, as in
the case of men. il is not always easy 10
read what is written in the equine feat
ures. But as to horses of positive char
aoter, positively good or positively bad,
there need be no mistake. | once
bought a mare Of a dealer. fora woman's
use, without even taking her ont Of the
stable. She seemed TO be sound. and |
felt sure from her eye that she was I'M
usually gentle and safe, and SO she
proved TO be. On the other hand, out
OF six or eight horses shown to ME at q
s~ale-stable, on another occasion, | re-
jected one-the best in the lot other
w~ise-because his eye, though not abso-
lutely bad. was such rs to arouse suspi-
cion; and the owner afterward admitted
to me that the animal was different from
the rest in being a little mean"
mention these instances TO show that
any person OF average intelligence can
learn, by taking pains, to read the
equine character. Horse-dealers and
trainers seldom make a study of this
matter. because they do not care about
it. What you should lock for is a large.
clear, luminous eye; what you should
distrust 10 a small eye, a protruding
eye. a sunken eye, an eye that shows
the white. CHANGING backward, which
indicates bad temper; and above all, a
CLASSY, tremulous eye, which indicates
stupidity. 1t is hard to describe. but
easily recognized. There should be a
considerable space between the eyes,.
The ears and the carriage Of them are
hardly less significant. Well-cut ears
that move continually with a general
tendency to be pricked forward indi-
cate a good aud lively disposition.
Large ears. if well shaped, are better
than very sman or mouse" ears. Lop-
ears, coarse ears, ears planted either
very far apart or very close together.
are to be viewed with great distrust.
Next in importance to the head come
the feet. They should be Of medium
size, neither steep like n mules, not
Hat, but sloping at a medium angle.
The best feet are "c~up-shaped," that is,
50 formed that when you pick them up
they will hold water.
As to the other points of q horse, /
shall not attempt to GO into details. be-
/ fear that they would convey in
formation only to those who do not need
it. But this may be said generally by
way cf advice: Avoid n long-backed
or thin wasted still more a long-legged.
horse. Look for u compact. rather
low-starding beast, with a good head.
good eyes. and well-shaped ears, and
you cannot 60 far wrong.
First Anarcnist-I am tirea OF lite
und want to die. GO mi out und kill
. mayor or governor or Something's. 50
get executed.
Second Anarchist-You dake my all.
vice and don't kill no mayors or COVER
nors. .Dey will take two on three years
findiuk out II you are zane enough to
hang. Shust you drive up to Shanty-
town and run ofer q pig. Den you got
slot right awav.-M 4. Weektv.