First-hand bits of stable lore

Preface

THESE chapters, except that on "Management of a Pack of Hounds," appeared originally in the "Boston Transcript;" the chapter nanied, in the magazine Coach and Saddle^ Chicago, 111., of which the author is the editor. The pictures are from photographs taken by Messrs. W. P. Robertson, 738 Eighth Avenue, New York, and Messrs. Schreiber & Son, Philadelphia, Pa.

The chapters epitomize thirty years' active personal experience with every kind of horse for every conceivable purpose, and the deductions drawn are in no sense theoretical. Such a book would have greatly helped the author when he began as a youngster, and it is his earnest hope that it may prove of use to others.

FRANCIS M. WARE.

Contents

Chapter Page

I. Horse Buying and Horse Trying .... i

II. As TO "Soundness" 2z

Chapter I HORSE BUYING AND HORSE TRYING

SOONER or later there awakens in the breast of every wholesome and normal man the desire to own a horse, and, that flame once kindled, there is nothing which will assuage it, should Fortune prove ordinarilyurbane, but the delights — and the disasters — of ownership. To " witch the world with noble horsemanship" has been the ambition of many an unsung hero, even as in the days of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, and of Alexander; and the agility, the decision of character, the patience, and the courage such pursuits develop are invariably the strongest arguments in their favor. As we teach our children to read and to write, so should we thoroughly instruct them in the best methods of equestrianism, watermanship, marksmanship, etc. ; and better far > I is he equipped who is au fait in such accomplishments — with some thoroughly comprehended trade to fall back upon if necessary — than the young men who are annually turned forth in thousands from our colleges with nothing but a " sheepskin " to cover their nakedness, and left trembling upon the threshold of a destiny with which their average collegiate acquirements have but illy fitted them to cope. That courses in such matters are not open to the pupils of our universities is matter for comment and reflection, as is the fact that modern languages have, in comparison with the ancient, until recently formed but an insignificant portion of the preliminary requirements and regular curriculum.

Given the ambition to own a horse, and the question of "means" affirmatively answered, the obstacle of "ways" remains; and many a Mr. Neophyte has found, or fancied, this an insurmountable obstacle. Generally recourse is had to Uncle John, whom family tradition has handed down as a combination of the serpent and the hawk in matters equine ; Cousin Will also knows a man who is on terms of friendship with another man who keeps several horses, and is therefore an expert; grandma, according to the fairy-tales o recited at family reunions on Thanksgiving and Christmas, was a regular daredevil in her salad days, and still has fancies for the flowing tails and arching necks that used to look so well on sofa cushion and sampler ; the news spreads throughout the family that Henry is about to buy a horse, and accordingly Henry, after much reflection as to how that act will afi^ect him with regard to his business associates and social intimates, prepares for the fatal plunge.

Right here is where Mr. Neophyte accumulates a cargo of trouble that would stagger a dromedary if he does not, once and forever, cast grandmas, aunts, cousins, friends and all, into the outer darkness. A man's wife and his horse are two acquisitions which he must choose for himself; and he who tries to please every one will end by displeasing them as well as himself. He will have been told bloodcurdling tales of the duplicity and chicanery of horse-dealers, and of the treacherous and evil disposition of horses ; and he enters upon his quest with much the same feeling that surges in the breast of a twentieth-century society girl on her first slumming expedition, — prepared to be dreadfully shocked, and finally disappointed that the incidents and surroundings are common-place after all.

The process of buying a satisfactory horse is so very simple that it is most extraordinary that no one, or practically no one, follows it. If you want a set of furniture you go to a store ; look over the goods, ask the prices, select your articles, and pay for them ; you do the same thing with all the necessaries and luxuries of life, save and except when it comes to the purchase of a horse. You do not insult the furniture dealer by asking idiotic questions about things of which you know nothing and he knows you know nothing ; if he says that this wood is mahogany, and that bruise came from an accident in unpacking, you accept his statement ; you do not look at him with the "icy eye of suspicion," as one who would say, " Great Scott ! what a monumental liar is this ! " nor, when he has named his price, do you offer him fifty per cent thereof, and insinuate that he is a scoundrel and a pirate for not jumping at it. In short you "go shopping" for horses as you do for no other commodity, and if you " get stuck " you are, in nine cases out of ten, obtaining your just deserts.

If you want to buy a horse go to any dealer — you can't go wrong, general opinions to the contrary — treat him like a man, and be sure he will reciprocate, be he Jew or Gentile, " Gyp " or genuine. Say to him, " I want a horse for such and such purposes, and place myself absolutely in your hands, save that I shall have a veterinarian to decide whether the animal is practically sound, and reasonably likely to remain so in the work for which I intend him. I know absolutely nothing about horses " (it will cost you a struggle to acknowledge this, but never mind, it 's no secret, for the dealer knew it the moment you walked into the yard, and he will think a lot of you for being man enough to acknowledge what to him was perfectly plain) , " and shall be guided by you not only in the selection, but in the subsequent treatment of my purchase. I expect a frank description of all my acquisition's shortcomings, that I may allow for them." Now, if that dealer can fit you out, be sure he will do it to the very best of his ability, and take pride in so doing. On the other hand, if you take Uncle John along, that worthy old gentleman hops around the beast produced for his inspection, like an old crow around a bone, and makes occasional verbal pecks in this fashion : " Six years, hey? Had his mouth fixed, likely. I '11 bet he won't see ten again. What's that on his off hock? Nothing! D'ye call that hock smooth? Isn't he over a little mite on that knee? Eyes look kinder blinky. Sure he ain't moon-eyed, hey ? Don't kick, does he ? Looks kinder mean. Well, hitch him up, and if he don't balk, and ain't much scared of 'lectrics, why, Henry, we'll drive him up to the house and see what grandma and Mr. Brown and the folks think." Now what is a dealer to do with people like that? What would you do yourself to a man who thus maligned a horse you knew to be absolutely all right; a man who, you could tell the moment you saw him, didn't know a horse-car from a car-horse, and was simply handing out a lot of drivel which he had acquired at second-hand, and with which he was trying to impress you. Every word was a covert insult; every look a slap in the face; and as human nature is weak and prone to err, we must not blame the dealer if he occasionally is tried too far, and hands back to the Uncle Johns (who are so prevalent) *' what is coming to him, and good and plenty," as Westerners would say.

Remember that, as a class, horse-dealers are as reputable as any business men. Investigation will prove that while there are in our penal institutions numerous black sheep of all trades, businesses, and professions, there are precious few horsemen. Respect decent men, and let them see that you do. You will, perhaps, afford them an agreeable and a novel sensation. Once you have taken the dealer's word and completed the transaction, do not expect that, because of the wisdom of your adviser, or through your own preternatural sagacity, your $250 horse is worth at least I500. One's geese may be swans, but whatever price you paid, it was full value, and the dealer would tell you so if you asked him. He is no Santa Claus, nor is he in business for health any more than you pursue your own avocation for the ozone that may be in it. He got full value, or you would n't have got the horse, and upon his always doing so depends his ability to eat porter-house steak whenever his appetite impels. You got fair value for your money, and that, reader mine, is about all we can ever expect, in this vale of tears, from anybody.

One thing more and we will be moving. When you get ready to sell, don't, for pity's sake, be you novice or expert, imagine that you can use a horse from three to ten years, and then get for him more than you paid originally. A $60 suit of clothes sells for $2 after one year's wear. Why must a horse that cost $1^0 stand five years' hard usage and then bring ^300, or the man that you bought him of be held up as a rogue forever more ? When you do get ready to sell him, never undertake to give warranty, which perhaps you do with the best intentions, and then take refuge behind your ignorance, which then (and only then) you are willing to frankly acknowledge. If you could see the debit accounts on the books of every dealer in the business chargeable to the screws he has bought or "traded for" (unseen) from his customers, whose representations (generally most flowery) are rarely anywhere near accurate !

The horse to buy is the animal that fills the eye; in other words, if you like a horse and his qualities seem satisfactory, buy him, and results will almost certainly prove likewise. We have several good show ring judges who select their winners practically on these lines, and to general satisfaction. Distrust the sunken eye, and the head narrow and prominent between the ey-es — that horse may not be vicious, but he is peculiar and probably crochetty — perhaps "a good 'un w'en yer knows 'im, but yer got ter know 'im fust." Lop ears are a disfigurement; jaws that seem narrow, and necks that are thick are a likely combination, after some sickness, to afFord you a thick-winded horse. Buy a horse largely "on his face," as you trust a man, — his character is there if you can read it, as you may if you will try. A thick and heavy shoulder is rather " harnessy," yet excellent saddle horses and hunters are that way built — in fact, for saddle and jumping purposes we have for generations been considering the wrong end of the horse. Welldeveloped withers are desirable, especially for a lady's hack, but never forget that your ride, your ease and comfort, come from the other end, as we shall see later. As to legs and feet, never mind measurements below the knee and around the arm, for horses work on for years on legs that are all out of proportion, and the best looking limbs and feet go wrong in no time. Therefore, if you like the looks of him, go ahead, no matter what anybody says ; buy him, if he 's reasonably sound, but don't let the veterinary, as he is prone to do, attempt to predict what may happen after you have owned him six years.

You '11 all be in luck if any of you are alive then. Walk him and trot him (in hand) to and from you ; if he does n't stand straight and move straight, if he "wings" or " dishes," as he certainly will if he is not true on his joints, don't have him, and give the dealer the reason, — that is one thing you can see and judge for yourself. Of course the only probable result is that he may have to wear boots somewhere, but moderate-priced horses are too plenty to make it necessary to bother with the crooked-legged sort. At " bargain-counter " rates the aspect changes, but the $3.98 horse (marked up from I2.37) is better left to the expert (if there are any such individuals). " Real old English " prints give us short back, rare loins, deep ribs, long quarters, great stifles, and second thighs, and all that ; English sporting prose and verse record their virtues and extol their necessity, and the result would be as vastly edifying as desirable were it not for the fact that, so far as actual importance goes, every one of these much-lauded points is not only non-essential, but practically of little value ! A short back is becoming, is graceful, is acceptable, but many of our best horses — racing, chasing, saddling, trotting, driving, and weight-carrying — have been as long as a street in the back, as slack as a hammock in the loin, as shallow in back-rib (not front, or round chest) as a soup-plate, as short in the quarters as a Jersey yearling, and as narrow and undeveloped in second thighs as a hound pup ; in fact not a few breeders of thoroughbreds maintain that this latter characteristic is essential to the race horse, and Hanover and imported Meddler were both entirely wanting in any development there. A tail, well set and gaily carried, is attractive and generally evidence of good courage, yet beware the tail that is carried to one side, for it is almost an infallible signal of an existing weakness of structure somewhere in the anatomy of that side, which may have developed, may be developing, or may never develop, but probably will. The drooping quarter and low-set tail are generally indications that a horse is quick on his feet, and will jump well, so that, in race horse or hunter, this formation is rather desirable. The horse whose hocks are set in will not improbably interfere, over-reach, or " cross-fire; " that is, overreach on to the opposite forefoot. Your veterinary will tell you if he has done any or all of these things, or if he is shod to correct or prevent them ; as also whether his teeth show marks of cribbing, his jugular vein has been interfered with by bleeding, etc. On all such matters be guided by him.

Above all things get the bugbear of actual soundness out of your head, and be satisfied with

II the practical, for that 's all you can get, anyway. No horse is absolutely sound, so why bother ? And if he could be, and you used him hard enough and long enough, he would not remain so. The fact that your bookkeeper has a " baseball " finger does n't worry you ; why need the fact that your beast exhibits an odd splint, spavin, bog, etc., so long as they cause no lameness, inconvenience you more than him ? An owner may have "spavin on the brain," and it will affect him far more, nine times out often, than it does his family slave, who cheerfully carries it about for years. Nothing is so certain as the fact that, if a blemish or unsoundness exists, there can hardly be another in the same place and of the same sort, and the man who buys his blemishes with his horse is relieved of a vast amount of anxiety as to whether they may come, by the fact that they already exist. You may say that this is the philosophical view to take of it, but what more important and generally satisfactory view can one take of anything ^ And what is life, anyway, without the ability to so view matters generally ? Remember, this is not written for the " expert " (?) owner, the rich buyer, the wholesale user of horseflesh, but for the " little men," who are in a state of transition between steering a baby-carriage and a horse, and who, if they find actual experience satisfactory and economical, may develop later into leviathan purchasers, and can then gratify unhindered personal whims and the caprice of family or friends.

A horse of five or six or seven years is not as generally sought and as urgently demanded as was the case some years ago. This is for practical reasons. The animal of eight to twelve is in his prime ; he has passed, more or less successfully, through the trials and the accidents of youth, and, as he is now, so will he probably remain, for as many years as any horse ought. Practical soundness in a horse of this age means a lot, and it is for that reason, among others, that he is so much more desirable than a younger beast to whose condition it may not continue, for long, to apply. Invariably, however, go to one expense with such a horse, and never omit it ; get a first-class horse dentist, and be sure that his teeth are, or are placed, in thorough order — the outlay will repay you a hundredfold.

Having looked him over, liked him, " vet " ed him, etc., we will proceed to try him. Right here, and generally through a most natural and over-looked cause, is where so many troubles and so much dissatisfaction arise in horse buying. A dealer drives all day, and every day, all sorts of rough, half-schooled and timid horses, in the process of " city-breaking " them ; going past, and up to all sorts of objects with perfect safety, and as a matter of course with horses which, until they learn their way about, would climb trees and church-steeples with the average driver. Consequently, he is utterly unable to answer intelligently the question whether any horse is quiet and " family broken." He is, with the dealer^ a perfect lamb, and that gentleman honestly considers him so. With you he proves a regular " limb," and dire is your consequent wrath, and great the possible destruction of your property. Yet the horse is again, in the dealer's hands, as you are much mortified to find, a patent-safety conveyance. Both parties are honest in such transactions, and both right according to their lights, but the dealer invariably gets the worst of it. Yet it was all your own fault, every bit of it. The dealer knew you were not a horseman the moment he saw you. The horse realized it the moment you laid hands on reins, and he took liberties accordingly. The dealer could not possibly know what a duffer you would prove, and was absolutely honest in his representations. Yet trouble ensues, and nothing will convince you that he is not a scamp, and him that you are not a hopeless imbecile. To prevent any such misunderstandings insist upon driving yourself from the time you leave the stable door — and out of the door also. If the horse is too much for you in any way, say so frankly, and try another, nor let false pride prevent. The dealer is trying to suit ; give him a fair chance and prevent all afterclaps. Drive the horse to the objects you want him to see, and allow no argument against it. Explain this to the owner before you start, and don't let him harness the horse unless the understanding to that effect is clear. His time is worth as much as yours. Don't be satisfied with a trial at electric cars, for instance, in the city streets. No horse minds them there unless he is a regular Indian. Find things to suit you, and take no one's " sayso " for any such particulars. If the dealer will not agree to this, which is absolutely a fair trial, tell him to " keep his old horse." There are others ; and you are well within your rights. The qualities of a horse must absolutely suit, or you are foolish to take him, and many a cut of the whip, and "jab" in the mouth will be his luckless portion because he does some little thing, or has some little trick, which you don't like.

Be sure the animal backs freely (many of them do not) , and that up hill. Let him get his tail over the reins ; he'd better kick then, if he's that way inclined, than after you own him. Hit him sharply near the root of the tail for the same reason ; pull him up sharp, and start him quickly to see if he is balky or inclined to get mad, and to be hot about it ; in short, put him through any " stunts " you consider necessary or advisable, but invariably have a distinct understanding with the dealer first.

Now that your Bucephalus is tried, and we hope bought and taken home, there are two things to be especially insisted upon. First, use him, and keep using him. Don't think because he is new to you that he is too precious to work. The reason for his demure behavior is because he has labored regularly and steadily for somebody, so keep him going.

" Mark that day lost which sees the setting sun Descend upon at least ten miles undone "

may be pasted over Charlie's box-stall door (let's hope you will give him a box). So use him

i6 regularly and plentifully, that 's what he is for ; nor, if you and the groom and the children and grandma and the entire outfit will all persist in feeding him and in driving him, perhaps only to the post-office and back, can you blame either Charlie or his former master if some day, in sheer lightness of heart, he sends the dasher flying about your ears. Secondly, never believe the ghost story that Charlie or any other horse is, was, or will be " safe for women to drive," for that means safe under every and all possible (and impossible) conditions ; no such horse was ever foaled, and putting women aside, no horse is " absolutely safe" for any man to drive. There are three very excellent reasons why no woman, unaccompanied by a man, should drive any horse; that is, the average woman who " sometimes used to drive old Nellie and the carryall when a girl," and who, now that Henry is able to afford a turnout, wants to take the family out behind the new horse because the dealer said "a woman could drive him." A woman has never been taught to shut her hands (and has no strength when they are shut) ; she wears gloves generally much too small for her, or, if large enough, they button tight around the wrist, which is as bad, so far as cramp-

2 ly ing the muscles goes, and she does not " make allowances ; " everything the new horse does must be the identical thing that old Nellie did, and that respected and defunct family treasure is the coat which the cloth of the new horse must fit, or woe to his former possessor — the dealer. A horse is a fool, and he is a coward ; his mind is one-ideaed ; and what he has done is no criterion of what he may do at the next moment. Nature constructed him thus, and he is not to be blamed for his limitations, but- they must be recognized and allowed for. The man who unreservedly places his family at the mercy of any horse under feminine guidance courts disaster, which is almost certain sooner or later to arrive ; and the dealer who sells a horse with a warranty that it is safe for a woman to use, does a most reprehensible thing, and carelessly exposes to danger thousands of innocent lives. A horse fears nothing familiar, nearly everything that is strange ; a woman's skirts fluttering in the wind will stampede a herd of plains horses, who will, any of them, allow one to shoot from their backs ; and some day the one dreadful object heaves in view ; foolishness prompts fear, fear flight ; weak arms, slender hands, and tight gloves play their useless parts, and Mary

i8 and the children are sprinkled over the countryside as victims to man's folly.

Perhaps all this may sound very discouraging, but be that as it may, isn't it true, and aren't we, lots of us, "monkeying" with an equine" buzzsaw " that needs proper attention and fairly capable engineers to handle it ? A danger that is appreciated is half prevented, and if those who realize their own shortcomings in such matters will but see to it that their boys and girls are from childhood accustomed to, and properly instructed in, the methods of managing successfully horses and other animals, they will endow their children with a most valuable mental, moral, physical, and (possibly) pecuniary asset; they will add incalculably to the safety of traffic in all thoroughfares in town and country ; they will open up wide fields of pleasure to their offspring, and they will further by leaps and bounds the proper appreciation, the humane and common-sense management of horses, and, through that, of all kinds of dumb animals.

The S. P. C. A. has most signally and singularly missed the point at which it has aimed because of the neglect of this very matter of teaching the children the proper management of animals, and making it a part of their up-bringing. What matters it that an occasional brute of a man is imprisoned or fined? He knows no better, nor will his descendants learn from his punishment. Show them the why and wherefore of such matters by actual demonstration, talks, lectures, pictures, living examples, and teach them not only the proper treatment of birds, cats, dogs, horses, etc., but explain to them in a practical way how and why things are right and v/rong. Text-books and pamphlets are all very well, but they are not practical, and no one knows that more quickly than the children for whom they are intended. Such matters should be part of the curriculum of every school (public or private) and college ; not the dilettante end of it, but the hard, old business end that has, after all, so much in it of sentiment, of sympathy, of romance to those who really love dumb animals and appreciate their needs and their neglect.

Prices, of course, vary as widely as do the merits of the animals sought. A good, plain, family horse will cost all the way from |ioo to ^250, the first figure, or perhaps a trifle less, being sufficient to secure a practically sound, " second-hand " animal, displaying probably the scars and effects of honorable toil, but none the worse for them so far as utility goes. The last-named figure will secure as good a horse as any one needs for family purposes, — sound, rugged, free, powerful and clever. The family horse may be called the staple of the carriage-horse trade, and from him upward prices increase by leaps and bounds in proportion to the possession of the " Seven Royal S's," — Symmetry, Speed, Style, Size, Shape, Substance and Safety. Such figures as I500 to $2,500, for single horses, $1,000 to $5,000 for pairs, etc., are prices paid every day, and exciting no special comment- Never buy a horse in the spring, for the reason that the active market puts prices up 40% : nor sell in the fall, since opposite conditions cause the same ratio of depreciation. The winter or the summer are also appropriate times to invest, but you are apt to find then only the leavings of the active seasons. As every one else sells in the fall, do you buy then, even if you have to board out your purchase until wanted. It is the cheapest plan, and there are hundreds of excellent animals on sale which, fresh from the country in the previous spring, have been used just enough to thoroughly season, city-break, and way-wise them. These are your choicest bargains.

chapter II AS TO "SOUNDNESS"

IN view of the increasing difficulty in obtaining strictly high-class horses for any purpose, it would appear inevitable that the consumer must make up his mind to accept fair-class horses that are not quite sound, or to put up with sound animals of moderate individual merits. It is becoming impossible for dealers to find sound horses of the highest class. In no country are the buyers' exactions as to soundness as severe as they are in America, and in no country are they so unreasonably and unwisely strict, — "unreasonably " because perfection is insisted upon when certain departures from it do not affect usefulness, and "unwisely" because the presence of these defects will often result in the rejection of an animal otherwise exactly suitable to the buyer and his purposes. To the average purchaser, absolute soundness is a "bugaboo" which he, parrot-like, insists upon ; fearing to invest in f^lKH^l^^rpi^'rm^^

AS TO "SOUNDNESS"

anything to which the adjective may not properly apply. Of course the majority of buyers are unable to decide for themselves as to what defects are really injurious, or likely to become so ; or even to determine whether blemishes exist at all. In this emergency the veterinarian is called in, and the matter is blindly left to his verdict, which is competent so far as concerns physical merit, but generally weak when it includes an opinion as to the fitness of the animal for the purpose intended. It will thus be seen that the veterinary is generally (in private dealing at least) the arbiter who decides the points at issue, and that, so far as a " deal " is concerned, he is the power behind the throne.