Diamond Cut Diamond.
It is not always at the time of making a sale that the “gyp” practises sharp tricks. When occasion offers he has been known purposely to depreciate the value of a horse he wishes to buy. If he can make it appear that the horse is lame, sick, broken-winded, weak eyed or balky he may acquire him at a discount, and he has secret methods of accomplishing his dishonest ends. A fine wire or cord tied around the pastern soon causes symptoms simulating those of founder; or the horse limps painfully after a horse-hair has by means of a needle been passed through a certain part of his leg, or when a small nail has been driven into the foot or a gravel or bean put under the shoe. A horse will stop eating and so appear sick when tallow has been smeared upon the roof of the mouth and inner side of the upper incisor teeth; or refuse to pull when his shoulders and breast have been bathed with an irritating solution of corrosive sublimate, tincture of cantharides, or tartar emetic; or seem to have glanders when fresh butter has been melted and poured in his ears; or afflicted with eye disease when whole flaxseed has been chewed and rubbed on the eyes; or he can be made fractious by an application of a caustic fluid.
The owner should make a careful search for such causes of unsoundness should his horse mysteriously go wrong at the time when a trade is pending, and on recognizing the possibility of a trick it is better to call the deal off than to discount the price.