HAYS
—are a particular kind of nets for taking RABBITS and HARES, the use of which are proscribed in almost every Act to be found in the penal statutes for the PRESERVATION of GAME. They are made from sixty to one hundred and twenty feet long, and six feet deep; constituting the most destructive engine of any ever yet invented to strip a country, by the mode in which they are used. They are only in the possession of POACHERS of the first magnitude, (in the neighbourhoods of PARKS, HARE WARRENS, and PRESERVES,) by whose desperate and determined nocturnal exertions the WHOLESALE trade of the metropolis is invariably supplied.
HAYWARD
—is a manorial parochial officer, appointed to preserve the privileges, and protect the rights, immunities, and cattle, of those who are entitled to commonage of certain lands, wastes, &c. He derives from his appointment, authority to drive his district at stated periods, well known in its vicinity; to impound strays, and to prevent nuisances of diseased cattle; or any other impropriety of cattle breaking bounds, and destroying fences, of which it comes within the intent of his office to take cognizance. To all which there are certain local fees appertaining, according to the custom of the country, for the support of an office very wisely instituted to prevent trifling law-suits and paltry litigations.
HAZARD
—is, beyond a doubt, the most fashionable and fascinating GAME ever yet invented for the expeditious and instantaneous transfer of immense sums from one hand to another. It is a GAME of CHANCE; and, when fairly played, is the FAIREST upon which a stake can possibly be made, from one guinea to a THOUSAND, or to any amount whatever; the winning or losing of which is decided with so much rapidity, that the adventurer can never be more than a few moments in suspense, although he may be many years in REPENTANCE. Hazard is the game of nocturnal celebrity, by which the best estates have been impoverished, and immense property destroyed: it is played with a box and pair of dice, and is of considerable antiquity, as noticed by Shakespeare in Richard the Third, whom he has made to say,
- "Slave, I have set my life upon a CAST,
- "And I will stand the HAZARD of the DIE."
The person holding the BOX is called the Caster, who having been set as much money by the surrounding company (or any individual) as he proposes to throw for, and the STAKE or STAKES being deposited within a centrical circle upon the table, he then throws the dice from the BOX, and whatever number appears upon the surface is termed "the MAIN;" and so vociferated loudly by a person called the Groom Porter, who stands above the rest, and whose business it is to call the main and chance, furnish fresh dice when demanded, and to receive the money for a box-hand when due. So soon as the main is declared, which, in fact, is the number by which the Caster's opponents must abide for themselves, the Caster throws a second time, and this number is called the chance, being his own chance against the main previously thrown; and so named, because it is the number of the MAIN of the PLAYERS against the chance of the individual who is the Caster, and makes stakes against the whole, or any part of the rest.
The main and chance being proclaimed by the Groom Porter, odds are generally laid between the throws (upon the termination of the event) according to the numbers opposed to each other, and according to the scale by which all bets upon the game are regulated, and strictly observed. The Caster may, or may not, engage in any of these bets, which he very frequently does, as a hedge (or fence) to his own stakes, when the odds are six to four, or TWO to ONE, in his favour: at any rate, he continues to throw the dice in succession, till either the main or chance appears: if the main is first thrown, those who "set the Caster" draw their money; the Caster is then said to have "thrown out," and passes the box to his next neighbour: on the contrary, should he have thrown his own chance first, he is then the winner, and of course not only draws all the money he staked and betted, but continues to HOLD the BOX, and throw a "new main" for any sum he wishes to be set, in which a Caster is never known to be disappointed.
When a Caster has thrown in (that is, has won) three times in succession, it is termed "a BOX HAND," and he then pays half a guinea to the Groom Porter, for the privilege of playing, the use of box and dice, negus, &c. provided for the accommodation of the company. The box continues in the Caster's possession so long as he continues to throw in, (paying an additional half guinea every third time of winning;) but the first time he loses, he resigns the box to the player sitting next to him, unless he requests, and is permitted to renew his own play, which is then called taking "a back hand." There are more minute distinctions, as well as a fixed table of the odds during the play; but they are too long for insertion; and could not be so clearly comprehended by theory, as understood by practice.
HEAD
.—The correct formation of a horse's head is so indispensibly necessary to the striking symmetry and corresponding uniformity of the whole, that its make should never be inadvertently overlooked in a hasty purchase. The head, the crest, the curve of the neck, and the entire of the forehand, are what may be termed the predominant features, or distinguishing traits, which alone seen, hold forth, in general, a tolerably just idea of what may be expected to follow. In the present state of equestrian improvement, the beauty of a horse's head is too well known to require a literary description: nor would the word itself have been introduced, but to remind every class of sportsmen, that those who purchase a horse too thick in the jole, or a head too large for the BODY, must never expect to be complimented upon the beauty of the acquisition.
HEAD, pain in
.—Horses, it is supposed and admitted, may be subject to pains in the head; and that such pains may proceed from causes it is impossible to explore. As, therefore, every attempt at definition must rest upon conjecture, it is evidently better not to advance opinions founded upon uncertainty, by which many may be misled, none either INSTRUCTED or ENTERTAINED. For symptoms, see Ears.
HEAD of a DEER
. See Antlers.
HEAD-STALL
—is the part of a caveson, bridle, or hunting-rein halter, which passes round, and on each side the head of the horse, and to which the reins of either are affixed, for use in the field or on the road, and for safety in the stable.
HEATH-FOWL
—are a species of GROUSE, (passing under the denomination of BLACK GAME,) of which there are different sorts, individually expressed in the various acts of successive Parliaments for the preservation of the game; as "GROUSE, HEATH-COCK, MOOR-GAME, or any such fowl." To prevent the general destruction that must evidently follow, if game of this description was pursued and taken at all seasons of the year without restraint, the Legislature has wisely provided a remedy by the following prohibition, exclusive of the penalties annexed to other Acts for killing without the necessary qualifications.
By the 13th George Third, c. lv. s. 2, No person shall kill, destroy, carry, sell, buy, or have in his possession, any HEATH-FOWL, commonly called black game, between the tenth day of December and the twentieth day of August; nor any GROUSE, commonly called red game, between the tenth day of December and the twelfth day of August; nor any BUSTARD between the first day of March and the first day of September, in any year, upon pain of forfeiting, for the FIRST OFFENCE, a sum not exceeding TWENTY, nor less than ten pounds; and for the SECOND, and every subsequent offence, a sum not exceeding THIRTY, nor less than twenty pounds: One moiety thereof to go to the INFORMER, the other to the poor of the parish.
HEAVIER
.—A STAG deprived of his testicles by CASTRATION, is then called a HEAVIER, which operation is occasionally performed, that a supply may not be wanting for the CHASE during the time of rutting; in which the STAG is perpetually ranging from one HIND to another, for three weeks or longer; not allowing himself the comforts of FOOD, SLEEP, or REST. Towards the termination he becomes lean, languid, and dejected; when, having executed the task prescribed by Nature, he withdraws himself from society, to seek repose and food. At this period he is so ill-adapted for SPORT with the HOUNDS, that the operation of castrating was adopted as an alternative to the temporary suspension of the ROYAL CHASE.
It is worthy of remark, that if a stag undergoes the operation when his horns are SHED, they never grow again; on the contrary, if it is performed while the horns are in perfection, they will never exfoliate; and it is equally remarkable, that being deprived of only one testicle, the horn will not regenerate on that side, but will continue to grow, and annually shed on the other, where the single testicle has not been taken away. Heaviers are of great strength, and stand a long time before hounds; for which reason the hunting establishment of his Majesty in Windsor Forest is never without a regular succession.
HEAVY in HAND
.—A horse is said to be heavy in hand, when, from want of spirit, he goes sluggishly on, bearing his whole weight upon the BIT; as if the hand of the rider alone prevented his pitching upon his head; and this to a good horseman is one of the most unpleasing defects a HORSE can possess. Horses of this description should be rode in a Weymouth bridle, (see Bit,) and constantly made to feel the CURB rein; when at the same moment, that useful monitor the spur should be brought into brisk and sudden contact with the body; a perseverance in which practice will be found the only mode to remedy the inconvenience. See Hand.
HEELS
.—The heels of a horse, critically speaking, imply only that part of the hoof which is the very reverse of the toe; seated behind, and forming the back of the foot, across the widest end of the frog, extending from one point of the heel to the other. Custom has, however, so far extended both the idea and the expression, that in the present general acceptation of the word, it is admitted to include the feet as high as the fetlock-joint; so that the heels are subject to accidents, inconveniencies, defects, and blemishes, as CRACKS, SCRATCHES, OVERREACHES, GREASE, &c. The heels of a horse, to be good, should be high, (that is, of a proper length from the hair above to the ground below,) firm, and substantial, open on each side the frog, and never should be cut down too low by the destructive instrument of the SHOEING-SMITH; an error in both judgment and practice, to which may be justly attributed the frequent failure in the back sinews; for where the heels are unnaturally reduced, and the tendons in part deprived of their support, they have evidently to encounter a preternatural distension, by which the elasticity is partially destroyed, and some of the fibrous coats consequently ruptured.
HEELS NARROW
—is a defect, or inconvenience, to which HORSES are constantly subject; but they are produced much more by the officious obtrusions of ART, than any deficiency in the original formation of NATURE. Horses with narrow heels are generally those who have had very little attention paid to the state of the feet, by either MASTER or man, during the operation of SHOEING; and where the journeyman smith too often, from absolute idleness, affixes a shoe too narrow to the FOOT, and then, to increase the injury, reduces the FOOT to the dimensions of the shoe.
This grievance is much easier prevented than remedied; for when once a destruction of parts has been inconsiderately occasioned, a REGENERATION may not be easily obtained. The cruel and invincible practice of applying the hot shoe to the FOOT (by way of fitting it) during the act of shoeing, contributes in no small degree to the contraction of the heel; and when this injury is once sustained, great care and constant attention become necessary to solicit a renovation. Whether it has been occasioned by the fatal operation of the cutting-knife, the fashionable back-stroke friction of the rasp, or the fiery effect of the hot shoe when conveyed from the FORGE to the foot, the direct road to relief is precisely the same: nightly stopping with any applicable composition calculated to mollify the bottom of the hoof, and to promote its expansion, with a plentiful impregnation of sperma-cæti oil daily, are the only sure and certain means by which the heels can be restored to their original and proper formation.
HEELER
—is the person who affixes the deadly weapon called A SPUR (made of either steel or silver) to the heel of a GAME COCK, when taken from the pen previous to his being carried to the COCK-PIT to fight his battle. A hard-hitting cock, who is perpetually fighting with effect, and gives his adversary no time to stand still, or look about him, is likewise called A HEELER.
HELPS, or AIDS
,—are terms appertaining solely to the MANEGE and RIDING-SCHOOL, little known elsewhere, and totally unconnected with the sports of the field. Professors technically describe seven helps necessary to complete the lesson given to a horse; as the VOICE, WHIP, BIT, CALVES of the LEGS, the STIRRUPS, the SPUR, and the GROUND.
HEROD
,—commonly called King Herod, was the first horse of his time as A RACER, and afterwards as A STALLION. He was bred by the then Duke of Cumberland, and got by Tartar out of Cypron, who was got by Blaze; he was foaled in 1758, and, after beating every horse that could be brought against him at four, five, and six years old, he became a stallion of the first celebrity, and transmitted a greater progeny to posterity, than any other horse in the whole annals of sporting, unless Eclipse and Highflyer (his son) are admitted upon the score of equality.
HIDEBOUND
—is an impoverished state of the frame and system to which horses are frequently reduced, and partakes much more of neglect in food and stable discipline, than of constitutional defect, or acquired disease. A horse said to be HIDEBOUND has the appearance of being emaciated; the coat is of a dingy variegated hue, staring different ways, with a scurfy dust underneath; the skin is of an unpliable rigidity, seeming to adhere closely to the internal parts, denoting a deficiency of the fluids, an obstruction of the porous system, and a languor in the circulation.
The whole, or any part of these, may originate in various causes; as a short allowance of good and healthy food, or a profusion of bad. Nothing will produce it sooner than hard work with bad keep, and a constant exposure to all weathers, in the severity of the winter season. Musty oats, mouldy hay, and winter straw-yards, are generally the harbingers of this appearance, which in all cases is very easily removed: good stable discipline, in wisping and dressing, regular daily exercise, a few mashes nightly of ground malt and bran, equal parts, followed by a cordial ball every morning, or an antimonial alterative powder nightly in the mash, will soon be found to answer every expectation, and restore the subject to good condition.
HIGHFLYER
—was the name of a late celebrated HORSE, that, taken "for all in all," (as a RACER and a STALLION,) far exceeded any other ever known in this kingdom. He was foaled in 1774; was got by Herod out of Rachel, who was got by Blank; her dam by Regulus, &c. He was purchased of the breeder, when a colt rising two years old, by the late Lord Bolingbroke, and was then thought to be getting too large and unpromising for any capital performances upon the turf. It was, however, observed by the training groom, that he displayed astonishing powers in some of his first trials; and it was upon his suggestion Highflyer was immediately named in the most capital sweepstakes and subscriptions then open; winning all which with the greatest ease, he was at the very zenith of his celebrity as A RACER, when Lord Bolingbroke, disgusted with the villainous deceptions and variegated vicissitudes of THE TURF, as well as declining daily in his health, Highflyer was purchased of his Lordship by Mr. Tattersal, who fixed him as a stallion at a farm of his own near Ely, in Cambridgeshire, where his success soon stamped the spot with the name of Highflyer Hall, which it will most probably ever retain. Here he covered for some years at THIRTY GUINEAS; and from the almost incredible number of mares he was permitted to cover, it was concluded he produced to his owner no less than from fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds a year, for many years in succession. His progeny of winners only exceeded THREE HUNDRED in number, who received, in subscriptions, plates and sweepstakes, above a THOUSAND PRIZES. Amongst the most celebrated of his get were Escape, (who once sold for 1500 guineas,) Euphrosyne, Bashful, Maid of all Work, Plutitia, Sir Pepper, Sir Peter Teazle, Skylark, Skyrocket, Skyscraper, Spadille, Rockingham, Toby, Thalia, Walnut, Old Tat, Vermin, Skypeeper, Grouse, Oberon, Screveton, Diamond, Sparkler, Guildford, Moorcock, and Stickler: of whom several are now stallions in the highest reputation at ten and fifteen guineas each.
HIND
—is the female of the species called RED DEER, the male of which is termed A STAG: the offspring of both is, during its first year, called A CALF; and these only are the deer hunted by the King's stag-hounds.
HIP-SHOT
.—The DEFECT so termed is an injury frequently sustained in the HIP JOINT, but not always with the same degree of severity. It is a ligamentary twist, or distortion, by which the junction of the bones is materially affected, but not amounting to absolute DISLOCATION; although it may proceed from a variety of causes, in sudden shocks from the different prominences of, or cavities in, an uneven and irregular pavement; BLOWS, STRAINS, or WRENCHES, (in drawing heavy loads,) as well as by SLIDING, or FALLING; yet there is little doubt but it occurs much oftner from carelessness, inattention, and brutality, either by a violent blow from the post of the stable door, in being hastily led in or out, than by any other means whatever. Let what will be the cause, a cure is seldom completely effected; for as the injury is not only deeply, but critically seated, so if the horse, after any medical means have been used, is turned out to obtain strength, a repetition of work generally produces a relapse of the injury originally sustained.
HOCK, or HOUGH
.—The joint of the leg behind, corresponding with the knee before, is so called. Its office, in sustaining the principal weight, and various turns of the body, renders it liable to injuries, which, when they happen, are not unfrequently both severe and permanent. Bone spavins, BLOOD SPAVINS, and CURBS, are of this description.
HOLD
—is a term of trifling import, yet, as it appertains to the important act of propagation between the HORSE and the MARE, its emphatic signification cannot be omitted. When a mare has taken the horse, that is, when copulation is completed, a doubt generally arises, whether the MARE will hold; that is, whether she sufficiently retains the male semen to constitute CONCEPTION. The mare being brought to the horse on the ninth day, from the first time of covering, if she again receives the horse, that alone is held a sufficient proof she did not hold before: she is, nevertheless, brought again to the horse at the end of another nine days, and when she has refused twice to take the horse, she is then said to be STINTED, and no doubt entertained of her being in FOAL.
HOOF
.—The hoof of a horse is that hard and horny substance at the lower extremity of the legs, coming into contact with the ground, and upon which are placed shoes, made of iron, for the preservation of the feet. The hoof, to be perfect and uniform, should nearly circumscribe five eighths of a circle, with a transverse line from one point of the heel to the other, as if a segment of three eighths was taken away; in addition to which form, it should be solid in substance, smooth to the hand, and free from the contracted rings, or wrinkles, similar to those upon the horns of cattle, by which the age is ascertained.
Hoofs are very different in both property and appearance, and a great deal of this depends upon the manner in which they are treated. The well-known and well-founded adage, that "Doctors differ," was never more verified than in the subject before us; previous to the necessary remarks upon which, it will be proper to point out the distinct or opposite texture and property of such hoofs, before we advert to the most applicable mode of treatment for each. The hoofs of some horses are so naturally dry, and so defective in animal moisture, that they gradually contract, become apparently compressed, and narrow at the heel, as well as acquire a degree of brittleness hardly to be believed; in which state splinters are frequently scaling off from the EDGES of the HOOF, at many places where the nails are unavoidably inserted to secure the position of the SHOE, for the preservation of the FOOT.
These are the species of hoof much more susceptible of injury than any other, particularly of SANDCRACKS; defects which, when they happen, very much reduce the value of the horse if offered for sale; not more in respect to the BLEMISH, than the perpetual apprehension and expectation of his becoming irrecoverably LAME. Hoofs of this description should be plentifully impregnated with sperma-cæti oil every night all round the foot; and the bottom should be stopped with a composition of stiff cow-dung, and the skimming of the pot in which fat meat has been boiled, previously preserved, and well incorporated for that purpose. It has been asserted by those who speculate, and propagate the report of fancy for FACT, that "unctuous or greasy applications are prejudicial to the feet," of which indefinite, vague and imperfect expression, the weak and wavering happily avail themselves, and boldly declare, under sanction of the equivocal mutation in meaning, that every thing greasy is injurious to the HOOFS.
It is a degree of justice that so egregious an absurdity should be exposed. Without descending to a minute and scientific analyzation of the hoof in its animated state, to ascertain how far it is, or is not, a POROUS substance, it becomes only necessary to demonstrate its possessing the property of ABSORPTION from external application. That this may be the more clearly comprehended, let it be remembered, if a single drop of SPERMA-CÆTI OIL is left upon a quire of white paper, it will, by its penetrative property, pass through each leaf of the quire, till every particle of its moisture is exhausted, where it terminates in a space little larger than the point of a needle: from whence it is fair to infer, this article, in a state of perfect liquefaction, will insinuate itself into, or go through, any possible substance where a liquid can be supposed to pass: this admitted, upon clear and indisputable proof, it becomes necessary to proceed to its effect upon the dry, hard, contracted, brittle hoof of the HORSE.
If the foot is held up from the litter with the hand, and with the stable-brush well impregnated with oil, so as to be left tolerably wet upon the surface, persevering patience (by holding the foot from the ground a few minutes) will prove, that the oil with which the hoof was so plentifully basted, has nearly DISAPPEARED, although no drop has fallen to the ground. What will the rigid disputant, or cynical Sceptic, oppose to this fact, when asked what is become of the OIL so recently laid on? From the fertile resources of "EXHALATION," "EVAPORATION," or even "running off," he can derive no assistance to support him in the erroneous opinion he has formed; and perhaps an obstinacy, from time and custom become habitual, will not permit him (till his judgment is more matured by experience) to admit, that it is lost to the eye, and taken up by ABSORPTION. This, however, is the fact, and to the incredulous, who are open to conviction, and willing to make the experiment, it will appear, that this treatment of the hoof, and the STOPPING previously mentioned, (if nightly persevered in,) will, in less than THREE SHOEINGS, completely restore and improve the most brittle and battered hoofs in the kingdom. So much cannot be said of unctuous or greasy substances; for, from their confidence, not possessing the property of penetration, they can add none to the EXPANSION of the HOOF; from the dry and preternaturally contracted state of which the defect generally arises; and by the additional growth and distension of the hoof alone can be relieved.
HOOF-BOUND
.—See Compression and Heels Narrow.
HORSE
—is the name of the most beautiful, the most useful, and the most valuable, animal, this or any other nation has to boast: the majestic extent of his formation, the graceful ease of every motion, the immensity of his strength, the smooth and glossy surface of his skin, the pliability of his temper, and, above every other consideration, his rapidity of action, and general utility, render him highly worthy the care, attention, and pecuniary estimation he is now held in from one extremity of the earth to the other. He is the most spirited and most powerful of all creatures; yet the most generous, docile, grateful and obedient to the purposes of man as an individual, as well as to all the agricultural and COMMERCIAL advantages of society at large. He may be justly termed the great main-spring of PLEASURE to one class, and of PROFIT to the other; without whose aid, the eternal routine of both must come to immediate termination, constituting a CHAOS very far beyond the most fertile imagination to conceive or describe.
The natural history, the form, and general utility, of the horse, is become so perfectly familiar to every eye, that the less will be required upon those points in explanation. The various pleasurable purposes, and useful talks, to which horses are appropriated in this country, has long since demonstrated the consistency of cultivating, by select and judicious propagation, each particular kind of stock, so as to render it individually applicable to the use for which it is intended. The numbers annually produced, and annually destroyed, within the circle of our own isle (even in time of peace) exceed common conception, and of which no computation can be tolerably formed. The long list constantly bred for, and engaged upon, the TURF; the SPORTS of the FIELD; the national establishment of MILITARY CAVALRY; the carriage horses of the opulent, rattling through every street of every city and large town in the kingdom; the thousands employed in AGRICULTURE, as well as all the DRAFT work of the METROPOLIS; in addition to the infinity annexed to MAIL and STAGE COACHES, as well as to the POST WORK, and those useful drudges denominated ROADSTERS, in the possession of every class of people, constitute an aggregate that in contemplation excites the utmost admiration.
The constantly increasing OPULENCE, or the constantly increasing LUXURY, has rendered the demand for horses so very superior to the example of any previous period, that no comparative statement of former and present value can hardly be ascertained. The fashionable rage for expeditious travelling, and of being conveyed at the rate of EIGHT or NINE miles an hour from one part of the kingdom to another, is the absolute furor of the times, and supported at an immense expence by those whose peculiar personal pride prompts them to display the advantages resulting from opulence, and the privileges from ostentation; to the incessant misery and premature destruction of thousands, whose services would be insured for years by a more moderate and HUMANE mode of treatment. The incredible increase of light carriages of every description, has opened such a field for the use of horses of airy form, and easy action, that they are now in eternal request, at more than double, and in many purchases TREBLE, what they were to be obtained for no more than twenty years since.
The different kinds of horses bred for various purposes, pass under the denomination of RUNNING HORSES, HUNTERS, CARRIAGE HORSES, CART HORSES, ROADSTERS, and HACKS. The first are propagated in the racing studs of the most opulent characters, and appropriated entirely to the decision of sporting engagements upon the TURF; many of which, after having displayed their powers in this way, then become HUNTERS of the first class, and are frequently sold at three and four hundred guineas each. Carriage horses, with which the gay and fashionable are now whirled through the western streets of the metropolis with the most incredible velocity, were formerly considered the good, safe, substantial English hunter, and might forty years since have been purchased for thirty or five-and-thirty pounds, which was at that time about the current value: they are not now, however, from the constantly accumulating demand, and incessant destruction, to be procured in a state of youth and purity, at less than nearly three times that sum. Cart horses of great size, strength, and adequate powers, are principally furnished by the midland and northern counties, for the coal and corn trade, as well as the commercial purposes of the city and suburbs, where they command an incredible price: small and inferior sorts are bred in, and dispersed through, almost every other county in the kingdom. Roadsters and HACKS may be supposed to include that great infinity of all sizes, descriptions, and qualifications, with which every road, every common, and every pasture, seem so plentifully to abound.
If superior judgment and circumspection were ever truly necessary in the selection and purchase of a HORSE, they are become doubly so, when the object of pursuit is proportionally difficult of attainment. To direct the eye, to form the judgment, and to check the natural impetuosity of the young and inexperienced purchaser, some few remarks are indispensibly necessary to shield him from the rock of fascination, upon which so many have repentantly foundered. The mind of man should never be more itself, never more adequate to the task of cool deliberation and patient observation, than in the simple examination of a horse for sale. Deception in dealing is so truly systematic, and so truly honorable in the present age, that the mind cannot be too closely fortified for all events: whether the subject is to be sold by AUCTION, or by private contract, the property of a GENTLEMAN, or the offer of a dealer, the ground of self defence should be precisely the same.
It is the fixed and invariable rule with every DEALER, to affect, at first, a perfect indifference respecting the horse he wishes most to get rid of; and he always makes a point of never giving the unequivocal price of any horse till he has been seen out of the stable; during which time of shewing out, he, as well as his emissaries and attendants, are occasionally engaged in watching most attentively every trait of the intentional purchaser's countenance, anxious for a single sign of approbation, by which to regulate the magnitude of his demand; asking five, ten, fifteen, or twenty guineas more than he originally intended, in proportion as he finds the enquirer fascinated with his object of perfection, and disposed to purchase. Before the horse is brought out, it is in vain to entreat the ceremony of "figging" may be dispensed with; it is declared a custom of honor amongst the fraternity, and must be complied with.
This prelude performed, and his stern thrown upon his back like the tail of a squirrel, he is literally driven into action; the WHIP (with which he is privately alarmed in his stall twenty times a day) cannot be permitted to lay dormant even upon the present occasion, particularly when its flaggellating flourish can be displayed to so great an advantage; the irritating severity of the lash, so retentively dreaded, he furiously flies from, and affords an attracting specimen of speed you may look for in vain upon any future occasion. After this curious exhibition of his ACTION, the horse still trembling with a dread of the deadly instrument waving in his sight, it will be proper to make a minute and careful examination of his shape, make, PROBABLE PERFECTION, or possible blemishes and defects, if the horse is permitted by the DEALER to stand quiet, a favor which is not always to be obtained.
This done, place yourself directly opposite to the horse's head at two yards distance, in which position, casting your eyes upon his ears, and dropping them gradually from one point to another, you command, at a single view, the effect of his countenance, the good or bad state of his EYES, the breadth of his breast, the fate of his KNEES, the appearance of SPLENTS, as well as the growth and uniformity of the FEET. Changing your place to a side view, at similar distance, you have there the curve of the CREST, the circumference of the BONE, the depth of the CHEST, the length of the BACK, the strength of the LOINS, the setting on of the TAIL, and the fashionable finish of the hind quarter; without which, individually perfect, he cannot be in possession of the symmetry that is known to constitute a handsome and well-bred horse.
Looking at him behind, it is instantly perceived, whether he stands well upon his legs, and is formed wide, firm and muscular across the GASKINS, or narrow and contracted, bearing what is termed a "bandy-hocked" or "cat-hammed" appearance. The same moment affords opportunity to observe, if BLOOD SPAVINS are perceptible within side, BONE SPAVINS without, or CURBS on the back of the HOCK; as well as SPLENTS upon any one of the legs, and whether he cuts either behind or before. If blood or bone spavin is observed, it is necessary to recollect (however attracting the object may be in other respects) they sooner or later produce LAMENESS to a certainty; and although they are not deemed absolutely incurable, they open a field to the disquietude and anxiety of BLISTERING, firing, &c. with the additional and consolatory ultimatum of a farrier's bill. Splents are by no means so critical, or dangerous, if seated forward upon the shank-bone, and not likely to interfere with, or vibrate in the action of the tendon, passing under the denomination of the "back sinews;" in which case, a good and otherways valuable horse need not be declined for so slight a cause, where no injury is like to be sustained.
Having proceeded thus far in the examination with strict attention, it becomes equally necessary to descend minutely to the FEET, in search of CRACKS, CORNS, THRUSHES, COMPRESSION of the HOOF, NARROW HEELS, or fleshy protuberances of the inner, and consequent projection of the outer sole. The state of the WIND is next the object of enquiry, which is done by making the customary and critical experiment of pinching the GULLET or windpipe with considerable force, nearly close to, and just behind the jaw-bone: should the horse, upon such pressure, force out a sound substantial cough, (which is sometimes repeated,) the safety of the wind is ascertained: on the contrary, should nothing be produced but a faint hollow wheezing, with a palpable heaving of the flanks, the state of the wind may be justly suspected. Should any doubt arise upon the decision, (which sometimes happens with the best and most experienced judges,) let the horse be put into brisk action, and powerful exertion, when the roaring at a distance, the laboured respiration, and the preternatural heaving of the flank, after a brisk gallop of two thirds of a MILE, will determine the state of the wind, without the least chance of being mistaken.
The EYES, that were only superficially noticed as matter of course in the front view, when the horse was first brought out of the stable, now become the necessary objects of minute, patient, and judicious investigation. If they are clear, full and prominent in the orb, reflecting your own figure from the pupil, without any protrusion of the haw from the inner corner, any inflammatory enlargement of the lids, or any acrid weeping from either, there is then every well-founded reason to believe they are not only safe, but GOOD. On the contrary, should there appear a seeming sinking of the orbs, with a perceptible indentation, and a wrinkled contraction above the eyelids, they are very unfavorable symptoms, indicating impending ill, and should not be encountered, but with an expectation of certain loss. A small pig eye should be examined with great caution; they are better avoided, if possible, as their future state is not only to be considered exceedingly doubtful, but they are always objected to, and productive of vexatious rebuffs, when a horse is again to be sold. A cloudy muddiness beneath the outer covering of the eye, or a milky thickening upon the surface, denotes present defect, and probability of future blindness; in all which cases, prudence should prevent such subject from becoming an object of attraction.
The AGE, if asked of a dealer, is declared "rising six" or "rising seven;" for it must be held in remembrance, that their horses are never acknowledged younger than "FIVE," or older than "SIX OFF"; and what is still more extraordinary, in addition to this convenience, they possess the sole PATENT for regeneration, having it always in their power to make a ten years old horse SIX, with the very desirable advantage to a purchaser, that he shall never be more (by the mouth) so long as he lives. This extra effort of ART, or renewal of age, passes under the denomination of "BISHOPING," (which see,) where a description of the operation will be found. The AGE of a HORSE by the mouth is not dissimilar to abstract points in politics with coffee-house politicians, largely talked of, but little understood; which circumstance alone has laid open a perpetual field for this eternal and remorseless imposition: to remedy which, as much as the nature of the case will admit, and that a matter of so much utility may with very little attention be perfectly understood, a PLATE is annexed, and accompanied with such explanatory matter, as will render it easy to every comprehension. See Colt.
Having gone through, with precision, all that can possibly present itself upon the score of examination, in respect to age, shape, make, figure, and action, we arrive at the very ultimatum of enquiry, respecting the WARRANTY of his being perfectly SOUND. What that warranty is, and how far it is to extend, requires a more correct and limited line of certainty than seems at present to be understood. BLEMISHES and DEFECTS are supposed by some not to constitute unsoundness, provided the ACTION of the horse is not impeded by their appearance; whilst, on the contrary, it is as firmly urged by the impartial and disinterested, that no horse ought to be sold as, or WARRANTED "perfectly sound," but in a state of natural and unsullied perfection. This criterion is the more necessary to be ascertained, and laid down by some principle of law, because the numerous litigations in every successive TERM demonstrate, that various opinions prevail, according to the INTEREST, CAPRICE, or PECUNIARY convenience, of individuals concerned; to carry, support and confirm which, even the prostitution of TRUTH and HONOR must become subservient. And this "glorious uncertainty of the law" is so clearly comprehended by the Gentlemen of the Long Robe, that when a HORSE CAUSE is coming on in any of the Courts, an observation immediately follows, that "whoever SWEARS the hardest will obtain it."
To prevent suits of such description, (which sometimes happen between gentlemen of equal honor, and strict integrity,) it is much to be wished, some direct and unequivocal mode of distinction could be legally ascertained, how far a general "warranty of soundness" is to extend, and where the line of perfection or imperfection is to be drawn; as for instance, to establish, by LAW or CUSTOM, some fixed and invariable rules, by which the soundness of a horse might so far be insured between BUYER and SELLER, as to render unnecessary such LAW-SUITS as are invariably supported by a subornation of perjury on one side or the other. Nothing, perhaps, could conduce more to a cause so desirable, or tend more to constitute a criterion of equity between all parties, if once established, and mutually understood; that no horse should be deemed SOUND, and sold with such WARRANTY, but in a state of PERFECTION, entirely free from lameness, blemish, and defect, not only at the time of transfer, but never known to have been otherways: admitting which mode of dealing to form the basis of equity between one man and another, an additional observation naturally presents itself, as a collateral consideration clearly implied, though not particularly expressed; that a horse sold bona fide sound, and admitted on both sides to be so at the time of purchase, should have no right to be returned under any plea whatever; for it is universally known, that any horse so sold, must be as liable to fall lame, become diseased, or even to die, in one hour after DELIVERY, as in any other hour of life. Then where can be the equitable consistency of returning a horse positively SOUND when sold, upon the plea of lameness or disease, when the time of attack has been merely a matter of chance between one and the other?