Horse Secrets

Secrets of Buying and Selling Horses.

Auction Sale Rules.[2]

At the Chicago Stock-yards the auction sales of horses, conducted in the “Bull ring,” at Dexter Park, are regulated by certain definite rules which should be understood by horsemen and farmers.

When a horse is brought in for sale a sign stating how the horse is to be sold is immediately exposed on the auctioneer’s rostrum. There are six of these signs, viz., (1) Sound. (2) Serviceably sound. (3) Wind and work. (4) Work only. (5) Legs go. (6) At the halter.

Terms on all sales are strictly cash.

All horses must be examined and tried by purchaser as soon as bought, and must be tried and accepted on the premises during the day of sale, as all guarantees on horses expire with that day, and on delivery of the horse. In no case can a horse be rejected except on the day of sale, unless sold as sound and proved to be a cribber, heavey, crampy or lame. If proven to have any of the four named faults, the purchaser shall have until 9 A. M. the following day to reject the horse. Purchasers failing to try and examine horses within the required time forfeit all right of rejecting them, and no horse sold to wind and work shall be rejected for any cause except he proves windy or will not work.

Should any question arise for adjustment between buyer and seller the matter shall be referred to three members of the Union Stock-yards Horse Exchange, the decision of a majority of whom shall be final.

Any person found guilty of doping a horse to hide the fact that the animal is windy, heavey, crampy, cribby or lame, shall be expelled from the market and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The following is an explanation of the principal rules governing sales in the auction ring:

1. Sound.—A horse sold as sound must be perfectly sound in every way.

2. Serviceably Sound.—Must be virtually a sound horse. His wind and eyes must be good: he must not be lame or sore in any way, but sound, barring slight blemishes, and these blemishes must not constitute any unsoundness. A spot or streak in the eye, which does not affect the sight, will be considered serviceably sound as long as the pupil of the eye is good. A further explanation is given as follows by F. J. Berry & Co., a well-known horse commission firm at the Chicago Stock-yards: “Blemishes must be nothing more than splints; the horse may be slightly puffed and a little rounding on the curb joint, but he must not have a bad-looking curb, and must not have a brand. He may be a little cut in the knees, but he must not stand over on the knees or ankles. He may have a little puff on the outside of the hock, but he must not have thoroughpin, or boggy-hock, ringbone, or jack, although he may naturally be a little coarse jointed; but the front part of the hocks inside must not be puffed. He may have slight scars or wire marks but these must not cause any deformity of the body, legs or feet, and must be nothing more than a slight scar. He must not have any scar from fistula or poll-evil. He must not have a hip down, and if one hip is a trifle lower than the other, it must be natural, and not a deformity like the cap of a hip down. He must not have side-bone, or any bad blemishes that deteriorate his value more than a trifle, but must be sound, barring slight blemishes that do not hurt him or change his value very little, and in no case more than the above-mentioned blemishes. Car bruises must be of a temporary nature.”

3. Wind and Work.—A horse sold to wind and work, must have good wind and be a good worker, and not a cribber, but everything else goes with him.

4. Work Only.—He must be a good worker, but everything else goes with him. Ability to work is the only thing guaranteed.

5. Legs Go.—Everything that is on the horse’s legs go with him. Nothing is guaranteed except that he must not be lame or crampy. He must, however, be serviceably sound in every other respect.

6. At the Halter.—Sold just as he stands without any recommendations. He may be lame, vicious, balky, a kicker or anything else. The title only is guaranteed; the purchaser takes all the risk.

Reputable Dealers Protect Their Patrons.

The horse buyer who patronizes a reputable commission firm or dealer in the Chicago horse market, or in any other great selling centre, will be honestly and fairly dealt with. The rules against cheating are stringent, and trickery is not countenanced among the leaders of the trade. Doping an unsound horse may be punished by expulsion from the market, and tricks, like the application of “soup” to make a horse act mean, are prohibited on “horse row.” It is when a buyer deals with a “scalper” who conducts his business “under his hat,” or patronizes the dealers who conduct a questionable business at small sales stables on the side streets near the stock-yards, that he may expect to get “the short end of the deal,” and we would strongly advise our readers to give such dealers and sales stables a wide berth.

As an illustration of how dishonesty is regarded among horsemen in some of the markets, the following well-authenticated incident may be told. In Kansas City a horse that had been overdosed with drugs to conceal the symptoms of heaves dropped dead while climbing an incline. The story of the “accident” spread through the market, and the next morning, when the owner of the drugged horse offered another of his animals in the auction ring, the auctioneer is said to have stopped, told the story to the audience, pointed out the man who gave the drugs and the owner, and added, “Now, this man has a load of horses to sell to-day and you folks can be your own judges about buying them.”

The seller from the country is as likely to “put up a job” on the commission man or dealer as the latter is to cheat the greenhorn buyer, and we agree with Dr. Hawley, who says: “Horsemen in general are not more dishonest than men in any other branch of business which offers like opportunities for trickery; neither do I believe they are more dishonest than the men who buy from them.”

Two Sides to a Horse.

When a horse is first led out for the intending buyer to examine him in the dealer’s stable, it is a common trick to stand the animal close against a wall. By this means objectionable features of the “other side of the picture” are hidden, and the pleasing aspects of the proposition, plain to the eye and hand of the purchaser, alone are considered by him in making his choice. If the horse is sold subject to such examination and without a written guaranty, there is no recourse for the purchaser when, perchance, the next hour or day he finds on the off side of the horse a “wall-eye,” a brand mark, a big shoe boil, a knocked-down hip, a fistula of the withers, or some other objectionable and troublesome or even seriously hurtful blemish or condition.

The intending purchaser should get the horse away from the wall and make a tour of inspection around him, looking carefully at every part and detail, and then using the hand, if necessary, to corroborate or correct what the eye has seen or suspected. It is always best to look at the horse from a little distance before closing in, and making a more careful inspection. Close inspection deals with minute things, and may make one overlook or fail to see bigger and more important things which would appeal to the eye when taking in the entire side of the horse at a look.

When a dealer is extra particular to draw attention to one side of the animal, take it for granted that there is something on the other side which is worth looking into.

A Little Ill to Distract Attention from a Big One.

Often we have seen tricks such as the following practised in the “bull ring” at the stock-yards. A horse having a small spot or speck in its eye which does not implicate the pupil, is sold to “wind and work” (See Auction rule No. 3, page 50).

The grooms and ringmen loudly draw the attention of the audience to the condition of the eye, and repeatedly assert that it does not amount to anything. This is done on purpose to distract attention from some far more serious defect that otherwise would be noticed by the prospective buyer. Dr. Hawley says of this scheme, “The horse is kept constantly in motion with the whip. The auctioneer and salesman are always looking for an angel to drop in, and one usually does. The horse is ordinarily sold to the angel on his first bid.”

Beware of Hoof Dressing.

When the hoofs of a sale horse are seen to be newly daubed with black hoof dressing, polish, or varnish, look out! or rather, look in! for there may be vital need of the artificial coating to hide serious defects. The dressing, if wet, will soil the examiner’s hands, hence he will be less likely to handle the feet and therefore fails to discover that a quarter crack or sand crack has been concealed, or the fact that the hoof has been rasped extensively for the removal of the rings and ridges that if exposed to the notice of the prospective buyer, would tell a plain story of chronic founder.

The sound, healthy, waxy appearing hoof needs no coloring or dressing material, and when such things are freely used they are often applied to hide the marks of the rasp.

Buying a Pair.

While a properly matched and trained pair of carriage horses should “act like one horse” when in motion, the buyer should be careful to examine each horse carefully “to halter.” The two animals should be capable of being harnessed to the carriage indifferently to the right or left, and no attention should be paid to the observations of the dealer, who may explain how they have been accustomed to be driven always on the same side, and who, as a rule, will harness the better one of the two horses on the left side, and the poorer one on the right. The examiner naturally pays most attention to the left horse, but he should examine each in a thorough manner, for it often happens when this is done that one horse is found to be of far inferior quality and of less value than its mate, on the “nigh side.”

A “High English” Guaranty.

A thrifty German truck farmer once called the writer to examine a newly bought work horse and to give him “a line” so that he would be able to get his money back from the dealer, the animal having proved unsound. “I have me a written guaranty and a witness that he been all right,” said he, “and now you help me oudt mit a line.” An examination showed that the horse was terribly afflicted with heaves, accompanied with coughing and passing of gas. He heaved so hard that his entire body shook, and the squeaking of the breathing apparatus was easily heard. Evidently the horse had been skilfully “shut” or doped by the seller, and now that the effects of the treatment had passed off the unsoundness showed up plainly. Asked for his “guaranty,” the farmer kept iterating and reiterating his statement that it was all right and duly witnessed. At last he produced it, and it read to this effect, “This horse is hereby guaranteed free from all encumbrances.”

“Do you know what ‘encumbrances’ means?” he was asked, and the answer was, “No, I don’t know such high English words, but I guess it means sound and all righdt in wint and limb, and to work, aind’t it?”

He got his “line,” and by paying $80 to boot brought back another horse with a less comprehensive but more satisfactory guaranty.

Moral: It is best to understand “high English” and the language and ways of the dealer when buying a horse at the yards, so that a written guaranty may really protect the buyer.

An Unsound Horse Sometimes a Good Bargain.

Some kinds of unsoundness render a horse useless for work on the hard streets of the city, yet do not unfit him for work on the soft land of the farm. Where this is the case, it will often pay the farmer whose pocketbook is not particularly well filled to pass by the young, soft, untried, expensive horses that have been specially fattened to bring high prices and buy a second-handed horse at a bargain price.

For example, suppose a big, strong gelding, getting along in years, has four well-developed side-bones which render him stilty and stiff in gait for city use, and which on that account is offered for $80, or thereabout. Such a horse may prove a profitable purchase for use on the land. Were he sound he would sell readily for $125 or over, for city work, and when bought at a discount of $45 he will very likely do more and better work on the farm than would a sound, young, fattened, inexperienced horse at the higher figure.

In making this statement the writer has in mind more than one corroborative instance of the sort in practise.

A Second-Hand Horse.

The owner who wants to sell his horse on the market should not clip off the mane and forelock, and it is a mistake even to cut the latter or to bang the tail. The stock-yard buyers, having special market requirements to meet, prefer to do their own “toilet work” on the horses they buy, and will pass by an otherwise good horse if he has been trimmed in a manner to which they object.

A horse that has had the mane and forelock clipped off is looked upon with suspicion on arrival at the market, and is likely to be termed “second-hand,” meaning that he probably has been tried out in a fire department and found wanting. It is therefore disastrous policy to “roach” a horse before he has been thoroughly tested and found sound and suitable.

Here is a case corroborative of this assertion: A fine gelding was bought for a fire department after a fairly thorough test for “wind.” While being led a long distance behind a sulky from the country to the city the horse became fractious and broke away from the driver. On arrival in the city he was immediately taken to the engine-house and met with the unanimous approval of the fire laddies and chief. The next morning the mane and foretop were clipped off and the horse was then sent out for a practise run. At once he proved terribly nervous and a rank roarer when in motion, but perfectly sound in wind the moment he stood at ease.

The commissioner who bought the horse at once took him back, refunded the purchase price, and sent him to the stock-yards. There he was instantly dubbed “second-handed”; ran up a bill of expense for his owner who could not find a buyer and finally contracted stock-yards distemper in virulent form. Eventually the animal was sold for less than half the purchase price and expense account, but not until the mane had grown in again sufficiently to disarm suspicion. Removing the mane or foretop will be certain to detract from the value of the horse in the market.

“Protecting” the Buyer.

In some sales-stables, when a coachman commissioned by a rich layman to purchase a single horse, or match a pair in his behalf, has stated his needs, looked over a few animals, and hinted at what he can afford to pay, he is asked by the dealer: “How much shall I protect you?” That means how much commission will you expect if the deal is consummated; and the coachman is not slow to ask a handsome rake-off. Another plan of making a profit, is to get as low a price or option as possible from the dealer, and then add a profit by having the seller charge a higher price than the option and afterward hand the balance to the buyer’s agent. Unless the commissioner is paid a special fee by his employer for making the purchase, these methods of making living wages for the work involved in the deal are considered perfectly legitimate by men connected with the horse markets.

Splitting the Profit Three Ways.

In the great horse markets, when a gentleman’s coachman, or a man who is deemed by him to be an expert judge, is commissioned to buy a certain style of horse at not over a stated price, the expert can easily arrange to make a double profit. He seeks out some scalper friend, and gives him a detailed description of the sort of horse wanted. The scalper then visits the stable of his associates in the business, selects a horse that “looks like the job” and secures an option on him at a price considerably lower than the buyer has said he will be willing to pay. He now brings in the expert, and if the horse suits that worthy, he is purchased at the option price and turned over to the employer of the expert at his specified price or a trifle less. Then the scalper and the expert divide the profit, or if another man “on the inside” has been used in the deal, the profit is “split three ways,” to give him a slice. The buyer is usually well satisfied with his bargain, and probably could not have bought the horse cheaper at first hand.

A Glossary of Market Terms.

In each of the great horse markets of the country certain technical, trade and slang terms are used in speaking of horses, and the intending buyer will do well to familiarize himself with them, else he may learn their meaning by dear-bought experience. In preparing the following glossary many of the terms explained are such as one hears in the Chicago market and elsewhere, and the writer has also freely quoted from an article entitled, “The Veterinary Horse Buyer,” from the pen of Dr. H. W. Hawley, V. S., in the Chicago Veterinary College “Quarterly Bulletin” for June, 1903, and from Bulletin No. 122 of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, in which Prof. Rufus C. Obrecht deals elaborately and instructively with the subject of “Market Classes and Grades of Horses and Mules.” In many instances it has been thought well to explain technical matters relating to practical subjects as well as to interpret the special term used by horsemen.

A Bull.—If a horse grunts when stood against a wall and threatened with a stick or whip, he is called a bull (or grunter) and by many is considered unsound in wind, or a roarer. The test is not conclusive, as not all roarers grunt and many sound horses grunt when so treated, or even when the rider places his foot in the stirrup. It is also used to describe a wind-broken horse that chokes at work. A heavey horse does not grunt when tested in the above mentioned manner.

A Bull Heaver.—A bad choker.

A Canard.—A bit windy.

A Cold Collar.—Balky.

Afraid of the Floor.—Has chorea, or St. Vitus’ dance.

A Gravel.—Suppurating corn. It is not due to gravel.

A Little Careless.—Knees bent forward, or sprung.

A Little Coarse or Full in the Hock.—Spavin.

A Little Nappy.—A little balky, or a dummy.

A Little Ouchey.—Founder, or navicular disease.

A Little Strong in the Mouth.—A cribber.

A Little Stamp On.—Branded.

A Little Reading on Him.—Branded.

A Little Rounding.—Curb.

A Hole In.—There is “a hole in” a horse when he has some defect temporarily non-apparent.

An Angel.—A greenhorn buyer who bids on an unsound horse. He usually gets him on his first bid.

At the Halter.—“Sold to halter,” or “at the halter” means without guarantee of any kind. The horse likely will be wild, balky, unmanageable or so unsound as to be useless.

Beefy Hocks.—Coarse, meaty hocks having too much connective and adipose tissue. The hock should be clean, hard, free from beefiness, puffs and bony growths.

Bellows to Mend.—Wind-broken; heaves.

Bench-Legged.—Knees bent toward one another.

Blind-Spavin.—Occult or hidden spavin among bones composing hock joint.

Blue Eye.—Eye showing a bluish or pearly cast, indicating unsoundness and disease which may or may not have caused blindness.

Bobber or Jig Back.—Weak loins causing bobbing or wobbling of the hind quarters.

Boggy in Hocks.—Distension of the capsular ligament of the hock joint indicated by a large or small, soft, fluctuating, synovia-filled swelling at the front of joint. Such hocks appear dropsical. The condition constitutes bog-spavin, and by some is termed wind-puff or wind-gall.

Bowed Tendon.—A thickened, bulging unsoundness of the back tendons (flexors). Caused by an injury.

Broken Crest.—Coarse, thick, broken over crest under mane. Seen in stallions. Sometimes used to mean fistulous withers.

Broken Down.—Fetlock bending too near ground, or tendency of toe to turn up as a result of injury to the tendons. Cause of acute lameness at time of accident.

Broken Knees.—Scarred knees showing results of a fall. May be new or chronic. Especially objectionable in saddlers.

Buck-Kneed.—Knees bent forward.

Buck-Shinned.—Bulging profile of front of cannon bones.

Bull Pen.—A horse auction sale ring.

Burglar or Robber.—This is an expression used by “gyp” dealers to denote a good-looking horse with some slight defect which they can remedy temporarily. This horse is sold, the buyer discovers his defect in a short time and brings him back and trades him in or sells him at a reduced price. Such a horse is stock in trade and the “gyps” sell him over and over again, trade him in and make money on him every time.

Calf-Kneed.—Opposite of buck-knees. Knees bent backward.

Capped Hock.—New and sore, or old and painless, swelling or callous of the point of the hock joint; due to bruise.

Careless.—A horse is “a little careless” when he stands with knees sprung.

Car Bruise.—Swellings, tumors, abscesses, on parts likely to have been bruised in shipping. Sometimes an excuse for such things not so caused.

Cartilage.—A prominent lateral cartilage at quarter of foot. May or may not be a side-bone.

Chest Founder.—Wasting or falling in of muscles of front of chest.

Chestnut.—The horny projection found upon the lower inner aspect of the forearm and lower inner aspect of the hock joint. Considered a vestige of an additional hoof of the prehistoric horse.

Clefty; Clifty.—Flat, clean, fine quality cannon bones.

Coarse-Footed.—Having side-bones.

Cocked Ankle.—Fore or hind ankles (fetlocks) bent forward. Common in young, overfed and under-exercised colts. When chronic, indicates shortening of flexor tendons and sometimes high ringbone.

Cold-Footed.—“A little cold-footed” means stringhalt.

Coon-Footed.—Long, sloping pasterns, throwing fetlocks low.

Coupling.—The region of the lumbar vertebræ, loins, or space between last rib and hip.

Cow-Hocked.—Standing like a cow with hocks together and toes turned out.

Crampy.—Chorea, St. Vitus’ dance, or slight stringhalt. The affected animal jerks up a hind leg on backing out of stall, and at the same time the tail elevates and quivers, and the muscles shiver.

Crest Fallen.—Broken over crest under heavy mane. Often means fistulous withers.

Cribber.—A horse that fixes his teeth or rests his chin on any object and then sucks wind.

Crock.—Old, crippled horse.

Cross-Firing.—Striking one fore foot with opposite hind foot when trotting.

Curb.—A bulging enlargement at back of hind leg just below hock and resulting from an injury to the tendon and its sheath.

Curby-Formed Hock.—An acutely bent or set hock giving a sickle appearance. Hind feet are thrown too far under body.

Cushion.—A small puff toward front of outer side of hind cannon just below hock joint.

Cutting.—Interfering or striking with feet on joints.

Cut in the Wind.—“The least bit in the world” unsound in wind.

Dead Spavin or Ringbone.—Lameness of spavin or ringbone subsided as a result of firing and blistering, or other treatment.

Dimple.—Point of hips lightly deformed by accident constitutes a “little dimple,” slightly hipped.

Dizzy.—A dummy.

Docked.—Having had part of tail amputated.

Docked and Set Up.—By operation the tail is made to carry high, after being docked.

Droop Croup.—Short, steep croup; tail set low.

Dropped Soles.—Bulging, or convexity of soles at points of frogs, due to descent of pedal bone in acute founder.

Dummy.—Softening of the brain following sunstroke or heat exhaustion. Horse is dull, sleepy, stupid; takes hay into the mouth and forgets to chew it; and if the fore feet are placed crossing one another, they may be kept in that position indefinitely.

Ergot.—The horny spur located at the back of the fetlock joint. The ergot is considered a vestige of an additional hoof of the prehistoric horse.

Ewe-Neck.—Low crest with head held in straight line and marked depression in front of withers.

Falls Out of Bed.—Pulls back on halter rope.

Feet Sore from the Planks.—Has chorea; a shiverer.

Family Broke.—Takes the whole family to drive him.

Feather in Eye.—Scar on eyeball, due to cut; it does not necessarily impair vision.

Filled Hocks.—Swelling of joints, indicating poor circulation, grossness. As a market term, it may mean bog-spavin and thoroughpin.

Fistula.—Fistulous withers. An abscess with opening discharging pus from sinuses (pipes) connecting with diseased tissues of the withers.

Fitty.—Has fits when hot.

Flat-Footed.—Low heels, dropped sole; founder.

Forging.—Noisily striking the fore shoe with toe of hind shoe when traveling.

Founder.—Laminitis. Inflammation of the sensitive laminæ of the foot, leading to lameness, dropped soles, rings and ridges in hoof wall and tendency to walk on heels.

Freezer.—A palsied horse; “hind feet froze to the floor.”

Glass-Eye.—Amaurosis or palsy of the sight in which, from paralysis of the optic nerve and retina, the eye is stone blind, yet bright, lustrous and prominent. The pupil is widely dilated and does not contract when exposed to bright light. As a market term, may mean cataract, watch-eye, wall-eye, or that condition in which the iris is pearly white in color and not necessarily diseased.

Gill Flirt.—Perineum between rectum and vagina lacerated at foaling so as to unite passages.

Goosey.—A horse that is nervous in the stall.

Goose Rump.—A short, steep croup and narrow at the point of the buttock.

Go Down, or Kidney Faller.—Collapses in hind quarters when worked.

Gristle.—A forming side-bone or enlargement of the lateral cartilage due to tread, bruise or wire cut.

Guinea.—A Greek or Italian buyer.

Hand.—Four inches. Width of the palm of the hand, used in measuring the height of a horse from the ground surface at the sole of the foot to the highest point of withers.

Hand Stick.—Used for measuring the height of horse.

Heaves; Heavey.—“Broken wind,” or “emphysema of the lungs,” characterized by coughing, passing of gas from the rectum, and double bellows-like the action of the abdominal muscles in breathing.

Head Strong.—Halter puller in stall.

High Blower.—Broken winded or may be soft from feeding and idleness.

Hillside.—Hipped.

Hipped.—Point of hip-bone (ilium) fractured (knocked down), making that hip lower than the other when viewed from the rear, and not unusually a serious unsoundness. When distortion is great, the shaft of the ilium may have been fractured. The latter condition may render a mare unfit for breeding purposes.

Hip Sweeny.—Wasting (atrophy) of the muscles of the hip. Often serious in mares, being associated with fracture of the pelvis, and unfitting them for breeding purposes.

Hitch.—Stride of one hind leg too short.

Hog-Back.—Arched or roached-back. The opposite of sway back or hollow back.

Interfering.—Striking the fetlock or cannon with the opposite foot as it passes, either in front or behind, or it may be an “ankle knocker.”

Jack.—A small, round, bone-spavin. As a market term, often applied to a prominent spavin.

Jibber.—A green, raw, unguidable horse.

Knee-Banger.—Knees interfere.

Lady-Toed.—Cow-hocked horse. They are almost sure to hit their fetlocks, shins or knees.

Legs Go.—See Market Rules No. 5.

Light in the Timber.—Light boned below knees and hocks.

Little Green.—Awkward, poorly broken; may not pull.

Lop Ear.—Ears dropping over. May be a dummy.

Lugger.—Pulls or lugs on the bit.

Lunker.—An exceptionally big, heavy-boned horse.

Makes a Little Noise.—A slight roarer or whistler.

Mallenders.—Scurfy or eczematous condition of skin back of knees.

Mecatched.—Jewish term for a heavey horse.

Mechanical Choker.—A horse that roars when pulling a heavy load uphill, by getting the chin down to the chest, but is otherwise sound.

Megrims.—Fits; staggers; sudden falling.

Michigan Age.—Old.

Michigan Pad.—See Cushion. A puff on forward edge of hind cannon just below hock.

Moon-Blind; Moon-Eyed.—Eyes diseased or blind from periodic or recurrent ophthalmia.

Mug.—A greenhorn or buyer from the country.

Nicked.—Tail operated upon by severing the muscles to “set up” or straighten it.

Nickel’s Worth of Hair Off.—Wire cut.

Nigger-Heeled.—Front toes turned out; heels in.

Old Skin or Skate.—Aged, decrepit, or worn-out horse.

One Bum Lamp.—One eye blind, diseased or unsound.

Outside Cushion.—Same as Cushion or Michigan Pad.

Over-Reach.—Stride takes hind feet farther forward than the point at which the fore ones were picked up.

Paddle.—“Winging” out with fore feet.

Palsy.—Shiverer; chorea.

Parrot Mouth.—Upper incisor (pincher) teeth protruding over lower incisors. Upper jaw longer and projecting over under jaw.

Pig-Eye.—Small, retracted eyes. Characteristic of some horses of French breed. May indicate imperfect vision.

Pigeon-Toed.—Front toes turned in. Opposite of nigger-heeled.

Pilgrim.—An old, worn-out horse. A good old “has been.”

Pin-Hipped.—Hipped from fracture of point of ilium.

Pink-Eye.—Pinky, as a market term, applied to moon blindness. Correctly speaking, epizootic, cellulitis, or influenza, especially affecting the membranes of the eyes.

Plug.—An old, worn-out horse, or one of poor shape.

Poll-Evil.—Swelling and abscess, similar to fistulous withers, affecting poll of head.

Pones.—Lumps of fat on body of mule.

Posting.—Rider rising and falling in saddle with each alternate step of horse when trotting.

Puffs.—Soft swellings involving joints or tendons. Distensions of synovial bursal and capsular ligaments. Thoroughpins, wind-galls, bog-spavin.

Quarter Crack.—Fissure in wall of hoof running from hair toward sole at quarter.

Quittor.—Enlargement of the hoof head (coronet) having one or more openings (pipes or sinuses) discharging pus and connecting with diseased cartilage or other tissues.

Rat Tail.—Slim, almost hairless tail.

Rejects.—Horses returned to seller on account of unsoundness, or for other reasons.

Rickety.—Horse affected with rickets (rachitis). Same as Bobber or Jig Back.

Ridgeling. Original.—Cryptorchid. Testicles retained in abdomen or inguinal canal.

Ringbone.—A bony growth (exostosis) affecting the long or short pastern bones and coffin bones.

Ripper.—An unusually good, big horse.

Roach Mane.—Mane cut short.

Roarer.—Horse makes a roaring noise when exhaling air, the condition being due to paralysis affecting the nerves and cartilages of larynx. (Laryngeal hemiplegia.)

Sallenders.—Scurfy or eczematous condition of the skin in front of hock joint.

Sand-Crack.—A fissure of the wall of the hoof at the toe.

Scalper.—A horse dealer who handles cheap or questionable horses. He may have no regular stable or business headquarters.

Scalping.—Striking front of hind coronet, pastern or cannon against front toe when speeding.

Seam in Foot.—Blemish, old scar, or healed crack in the hoof wall.

Seedy-Toe.—Separation between wall and sensitive laminæ of hoof at toe, the space being filled with white, dry, powdery horn; sometimes with pus; “toe clip” is a common cause.

Serpentine.—A horse that extends and withdraws his tongue as a serpent.

Serviceably Sound.—See No. 2, Auction Rules. The term is incorrect, as a horse is either sound or unsound.

Shadow Jumper.—Nervous, skittish; afraid of his own shadow.

Shell-Bone.—Side-bone.

Shipping Fever.—Influenza contracted on cars, or it may be acclimation fever.

Shaky in Stall.—A shiverer.

Shiverer.—Afflicted with chorea (St. Vitus’ dance).

Shoe Boil.—A serious abscess, or open pus discharging sore or tumor of the point of the elbow. Caused by the horse bruising the elbow upon the floor, not necessarily upon the heel of a shoe, as commonly supposed.

Short Leet.—The best horse selected by the judges from a number of competing animals in the show ring, and among which the prizes are distributed after further examination.

Sickle Hock.—See curby-formed hock.

Side-Bone.—A lateral cartilage of foot at quarter, turned to bone (ossified).

Side Wheeler.—A pacer.

Siffon.—Jewish horse-dealers’ word (spelling in doubt) meaning to run in bids on a greenhorn to boost price of horse.

Slab-Sided.—Flat-ribbed.

Smokes His Pipe.—Lip torn where bridle bit rests.

Smoky Eye.—“A little smoky.” Eye cloudy, whitish, pearly in color, or opaque.

Smooth Mouth.—Cups or marks worn off incisor teeth, indicating great age.

Spavin.—Bony enlargement or exostosis upon lower, inner, front aspect of hock joint.

Speck in Eye.—A small scar of spot, not on pupil, and as a rule, not impairing vision.

Speedy Cutting.—Striking the inside of the hind cannon against the front foot as the hind is brought forward and passes the front foot on the outside in over-reaching when the horse is speeding.

Splay-Footed.—“Nigger-heeled.”

Splint.—A bony growth on course of splint-bone on either side of cannon-bone below the knee.

Split Hoof.—Quarter-crack. Sand-crack.

Stag; Staggy.—Thick and coarse in throat-latch and crest from late castration.

Stocked Legs.—“Filled” or dropsical, swollen legs below knees and hocks, the result of a lack of exercise or of sickness.

Stringy; Stringhalt.—The hind leg is jerked up at each step in walking and trotting. See Cramp.

Stifled.—Patella of stifle out of place. Any disease of the stifle-joint.

Stump Sucker.—See Cribber.

Sweeny.—Wasting, (atrophy) of the muscles of the shoulder.

Switcher.—Tail switching, nervous mare, that may also throw urine.

Talks to the Driver.—A roarer.

Takes a Little Hold.—A cribber.

Ten Minutes Short of Work.—Balky.

Tied in at Knees.—Light bone and tendons, making the part markedly constricted under knee.

Thoroughpin.—A fluctuating, bursal distension which can be pushed from side to side under the large tendon just above the hock-joint.

To Bush on Gristle.—To get a rebate on purchase price from a seller when a side-bone has been found after sale.

Too Much Daylight Under Him.—A leggy horse.

Tongue Loller.—Tongue hangs from mouth. May be paralyzed.

Trephined.—A molar tooth removed by punching downward into mouth by means of an instrument inserted upon tooth root through an orifice cut (trephined) in bone of jaw.

Trot Cut Short.—Short stride of fore legs.

Wall-Eye.—See Glass-eye.

Washy Coupled.—Long and loose in coupling and cut up flank. A poor keeper that tends to scour when warm or tired.

Weaver.—A horse that sways and swings backward and forward in stall. The action is akin to that of a caged bear, and the habit is learned by imitation or in idleness. It may indicate a high-strung, nervous temperament and the tendency to it may possibly be transmitted by an affected sire or dam. It seems to arise from the restlessness and longing to escape from “prison life,” or, in short, suggests the “call of the wild.”

Weed.—Has heaves.

Wiggler.—See Bobber.

Wind and Work.—See No. 3, Auction Rules.

Wind-Galls.—Puffs or bursal distensions at the sides of the tendons at and above fetlock joints.

Windy.—Unsound in wind, a whistler or roarer.

Whistler.—A form of roaring in which there is a slight or pronounced whistling noise made in exhaling air.

Winging.—Paddling or throwing the feet outward when in motion.

Worker.—See No. 4, Auction Rules.

Wears the Pants.—A pacer requiring hopples, or wearing them.

W. W.—Short for “wind and work.”