Riding and Driving

by Edward L. Anderson; Price Collier

Of course a man on the lookout for a horse will make an offer for a desirable animal wherever it may be found, but the most satisfactory mode of procedure is to go to some reputable dealer. I have bought horses from dealers in many parts of this country and in England, France, Germany, and other parts of Europe, and I have found them desirous of pleasing and as honest as their neighbors. I once bought a little horse from a trader in Frankfort-on-the-Main, who told me that I was getting a good bargain, and that in case I ever wished to dispose of it he would like to have a refusal. When I was ready to sell, I sent word to the dealer that a friend had offered me a fair advance over the price I had paid, and to my surprise he appeared and without remonstrance gave me the amount my friend had named. I need hardly say the horse was a good one, so I had been well treated all round.

Much of the friction between purchaser and dealer is usually due to the manner in which the former conducts his part of the bargain. It is not agreeable to a fair-minded man to be approached as though he were a swindler, to be offered one-half of the price he has set on his property, and then perhaps to have a sound horse returned because the buyer did not know what he wanted. I do not wish to be understood as saying that all dealers are honest; I have seen too many who would not go straight; but it is reasonable to suppose that most men in a large way of business, who have reputations for honest dealings to maintain, will "do right" by a customer.

It is a mistake for an ignorant purchaser to take a knowing friend with him for protection; this will, in the eyes of the dealer, relieve him in a great measure of responsibility. If the friend is really a good judge, it is far better to let him act alone, when he will be considered a client and not an interloper trying to "crab" a sale, and therefore free to deceive himself and his companion.

Some dealers will not give a warranty of soundness, and a warranty is too often the cause of disputes and of actions at law to make it advisable either to give or to demand one. A veterinary examination and a short trial must suffice. Sometimes the seller requires that the trial shall take place from his yards, to avoid the risk of injury to valuable animals and that blackmail so commonly levied by head grooms and stablemen. In cases where the dealer objected to sending his horse to another's stables, the author has been in the habit of offering a fair sum of money for the privilege, the amount to go on the price of the horse should the sale be effected; and this proposal has usually been acceptable.

Where a trial has been allowed, or even where the purchase has been made, if an indifferent horseman, recognizing his deficiencies, wishes to assure himself of the wisdom of the step he is taking, let him place a cold saddle upon the horse when it is fresh, and immediately mount and go upon the road.

If the animal does not buck or shy, and goes fairly well, albeit a little gay, it is a prize not to be disdained. Many horses, even with stall courage, will go quietly if the saddle be warmed by half an hour's contact with their backs, but will plunge or buck if the rider mounts a saddle freshly girthed. If a fresh horse will stand the ordeal of a cold panel, it will not be apt to misbehave under other trials.

Of course the confident rider will make his essay as soon as the horse comes into his possession, and if the new purchase does not come up to his expectations, he will hope that his skill may remedy the faults he discovers.

To go to the breeder implies a journey, to find often only young horses that are not thoroughly trained and almost always unused to the sights and sounds of traffic, many of which are fearsome to a country-bred horse. On the other hand, on such a visit, the prospective purchaser has a better opportunity of examining the animals offered for sale, and from a knowledge of the pedigrees and an examination of the progenitors he will be able to form some idea of what may be expected in the way of temperament and development; and it will be a satisfaction to have a fixed price, although it may not be a low one. Some of the breeders in Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri, and perhaps in other parts of the country, do not send their stock to market until the animals are thoroughly and admirably trained; and for a man who purposes "making" his own horse, nothing better could be found than one of the highly bred youngsters from the Blue Grass region. In the following chapter a few of the stock farms devoted to the breeding of high-class saddle-horses are described.

There remains, as sources of supply, the auction, the friend who has a good horse which he is willing to dispose of, and "the stable of the gentleman who is breaking up his establishment previously to a European trip."

It has now become a custom to send very valuable high-class horses to the auction block, and if a man is looking for something that has already proved its superiority in the show-ring, he may often find it his property by nodding to the auctioneer. But, aside from the fact that such an animal has probably reached its climax, and that the same experienced care is demanded to maintain its condition, it is not advisable for a man to purchase such a horse except for exhibition purposes. In the hands of a poor or even of a moderately good horseman, the animal will rapidly deteriorate, for it will be trained beyond his skill; and no rider who wishes to have a comfortable mount should acquire a horse that has had an education beyond the stage of being really "quiet to ride," for he may then bring the animal up to his requirements, whatever may be the measure of his dexterity. As for the inferior grades of horses offered under the hammer, it is better to leave them to experts. Neither the horse of a friend, nor that offered by the coper who hires a private stable from which to entrap the unwary, is to be recommended. Such dealings bring sorrow.