The purchase of a saddle horse requires a grave amount of consideration, especially as ignorant persons are apt to think that “anything will do for a beginner.” Every second person to whom you make known your requirement will be ready to put you in the way of securing “the nicest little horse in the world.” Gentlemen friends from every quarter will have something cut and dried for you to invest in; amateur dealers will persecute you; professionals will harry your life out; John, the coachman, will make himself odious by recommending some highly undesirable animal and stolidly determining to see no virtue in any other. You won’t know at first what his object can possibly be, but by-and-by you will find out that he and the owner of the property have come to an agreement concerning a certain little “tip” to be made over to John, in the event of his inducing you to become the possessor of the decided acquisition in horseflesh on which his own affections are set; and then, when you decline to be victimised, John will assume a stony appearance, and obstinately refuse to be interested in any other purchase.
You should be slow to select a horse, with a view to buying him, unless you can command the aid of a competent and disinterested judge. Do not take the onus upon yourself, for I grieve to say there is not any species of trade in which there is so much dishonesty and such a terrible amount of deception. If, however, you should happen to be thrown altogether upon your own resources, act thus (or get some one to do it for you): Go to the most respectable of the trade; it is your best safeguard. In former times, men like Scott and Anderson were so far above suspicion that the veriest tyro was safe in their hands. There are others of the present day of whom the same may be said. Find out one of them, tell him to what price you can go, and see the best that he can give you for it. If he happens to have what pleases you in price and appearance, get the animal examined by a reliable veterinary surgeon, and ask for a trial. Buy nothing without it. If refused, rest assured that something is amiss. Dealers and grooms, even the honestest of them, have ways of their own for pulling horses together, and making them step up and show themselves: ay, and for covering their defects, too, of which ladies, as a rule, know nothing at all. Therefore, when you fix upon an animal, get him ridden by a friend on whose judgment you can rely,—not in a hurried manner, in the dealer’s yard, but for an hour or so upon the road—and also for a turn upon grass. A correct opinion can then, but not otherwise, be formed concerning his paces, and the amount of training and discipline to which he has been subjected.
A lady’s horse should, as I have said, possess perfect manners. If he romps with his head, pulls heavily against the hand, leans weightily upon the bit, crosses his legs, goes clumsily upon his shoulders, or, in short, renders his rider in any way uncomfortable or unsafe, he is as unsuitable for you as though he were addicted to some actual vice. To be brief, he is not fitted for his office.
If, on the contrary, he can be ridden upon grass with a common snaffle and a single rein—not pulling, and going well up to his bridle—the making of his mouth has at least been properly attended to; he is fit to be a lady’s horse. I do not consider that any animal is so who requires a curb; but the subject of bitting is of too great importance to be merely touched upon here. I shall give some practical advice about it in a future chapter.
In the event of your purchasing a horse from a friend, adopt precisely the same rules as though buying him from a dealer, unless the animal be one with whom you are perfectly well acquainted. In such a case his price will be the only question; but if there is nothing amiss with him, and your friend is a person of honesty and good sense, he will freely grant you both a trial and an opinion, and will be rather pleased than otherwise that you should demand them, as the responsibility of the sale will then be lifted from his shoulders.
In selecting a horse, discard anything that is too large. A lady who is not a welter-weight does not require a weight-carrier, nor does she look well upon one either. See that he has good fore-legs, and has not any tendency to being what is termed “over at the knees,” for if he has an inclination that way he will be very likely to come down, and a sure-footed horse is positively essential to the comfort and safety of a lady rider. Bent knees denote a weakness of the muscles and tendons of the back of the leg, and are therefore to be reckoned as fatal to a roadster, although, strange to say, they are not thought nearly so objectionable in a racer, his price being in some instances not very materially lessened by them. This is owing to the fact that in the gallop they do not tell against an animal, while in the trot they do, very materially. “Diamond,” who was, some years ago, the winner of many important races, was so marred in appearance by this defect, that when standing still he always looked ready to topple over upon his knees; yet sportsmen know what a brilliant cross-country performer he was, and what a price Joe Anderson—dear old man! still living, and hearty, though deaf as any post—gave for him after his win at La Marche.
I have not the objection that most persons have to a hollow-backed horse, especially when designed to carry a lady’s saddle. It is infinitely preferable to anything approaching a roach-back, and animals distinguished by it are, strange to say, generally possessed of a variety of excellent points—extreme good temper and docility being among the most prominent. An unduly marked sinking of the spine is certainly not to be desired, but an animal who has what grooms term “a touch of a dip,” need not on any account be rejected for it.
A wise purchaser will always make a careful examination of the angles of the lips. A decided hardness about them, although an unfavourable symptom, need not condemn the animal; it may have been occasioned by abuse of the bit, or by the use of an improper one. A cicatrix on the mouth is a defect, as showing that the true skin has been removed from its place, and if a decided induration, or anything like a lump can be felt in the vicinity of it, evidence is afforded that the animal is a puller. He ought not to be purchased for a lady’s use.
A NATURAL AND AN UPRIGHT PASTERN.