A New Treatise on the Diseases of Horses Author:William Gibson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: t CHAP. III. Such Faults and Defects as ought chiefly to be avoided in buying of Horses. No (mail T Believe moft of thofe who have any great in'ooUvm" d... more »ealings in Horfes will readily agree in this, of a horu that few things in common life are more diffi- c,jjt tnan the buying of a Horfe well: and I have known many who beafted of their fkill and dexterity that way, and made greater pretences than others in the knowledge of Horfes, very much deceived. This is a matter that does jiot depend upon a man's having more wifdom or parts than his neighbours, but upon long experience, with a good taltv or fancy regulated with fome judgment; other wife a man is like to make but an indifferent choice. There are fo many circumftantial niceties about Horfes, efpecrally in what relates to the fhape, make, and goings of a Horfe ; and fo much is laid about the marks of goodnefs and badnefs in Horfes, that it would fill up a whole volume to recount half of what one may hear talked in a few days upon that fubject; and therefore I lhall only here have a regard principally to fuch things as relate to a Horfe's being found or unfound, as that which more immediately concerns my prelent province, with fuch natural defects and imperfections as render Horfes the moft unfit for common ufe ; and (hall recommend thofe who would be further inftrudted in fuch matters to the writings of chapter{Section 4the Duke of Newcaftle, and to the works of the French and Italian equerries, who have been very minute in all thofe parts of Horfe- manfhip. When a man is about to chufe a Hbrfe, if he be never fo good a judge, yet he muft b forced to take fome things upon truft, unlefs he be allowed a fufficient trial; for feveral defects in a Horfe are of fuch a nature, that they can-" not be eafily difcovered ...« less