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.