vein be obliterated at the place where it passes the seat of spavin,
before using the firing irons. We recently ran across an allusion to
this method of treatment which shows that it is by no means new. It
is referred to as follows in the “Complete Farrier and Horse Doctor,”
published in 1850, the writer being John C. Knowlson, of New York, a
nonagenarian “horse doctor” of the old school: “Before you fire a horse
for bone-spavin, be careful to take the vein out of the way, for it
generally lies over the spavin, and you cannot fire deep enough to come
at the callous substance without its removal. In order to destroy the
vein, cut a nick through the skin to the vein, just below the spavin, and
another just above it, and put a crooked needle under the vein and tie
both ends: then cut the vein across between the tyings, both above and
below, and you may either draw out the piece or leave it in.”
The same author says relative to the treatment of bog-spavin: “As soon as
you discover the vein puffed up or forming a bag, lay on some blistering
ointment, and in four days after bathe the swelling well with hot vinegar
with a little saltpeter dissolved in it. Also put a bandage round it
to disperse the swelling as much as you can. If this method does not
succeed, you must make two incisions in the skin lengthwise, as the vein
runs, one just above and the other just below the joint, and lay the vein
bare: then put the end of a buck’s horn under it, raise it up, and fasten
it in both places with waxed thread; then cut the vein in two just within
the tyings, and, if you think proper, draw the severed piece out. This
method of proceeding will cure most bog-spavins at the beginning.”
Facts About Pigment Tumors.
On gray horses that at 10 or 12 years of age are turning white in color,
purple-black malignant growths, known as pigment of melanotic tumors,
frequently appear where the skin is black in color, and constitute the
disease termed melanosis. The common seat of such tumors is the skin of
the tail, anus, vulva, and lips, and while most often external, may be
present internally. Such tumors are practically incurable, returning
after having been amputated and cauterized. They usually burst and
discharge bloody pus, and give the affected part a loathsome appearance.
In young horses of gray color, a careful examination will often disclose
small rudimentary tumors, and horses so affected should be bought with a
right understanding of the consequences. Fatal attacks of a mysterious
disease may be caused by internal melanotic tumors.
As an indication of the probability of these tumors being present
internally, the French veterinary scientists, Goubaux and Barrier, say in
their “Exterior of the Horse”:
“The hairs of the mane, like those of the tail, are ordinarily straight.
One of our associates, Mercier, has communicated a remark on this
subject, which was also believed by the Arabians: that it is in the
white or gray horses with _frizzled_ or _curly_ hairs in which melanotic
tumors are always found in the interior of the body, although none may
have any apparent trace on the exterior, particularly under the tail and
around the anus. This remark, the correctness of which we have verified
a number of times, both on the living subject and in the cadaver, is
very important, because of the dangers to which animals affected with
melanosis are exposed.”
[Illustration]
Secrets of Buying and Selling Horses.
Auction Sale Rules.[2]
At the Chicago Stock-yards the auction sales of horses, conducted in the
“Bull ring,” at Dexter Park, are regulated by certain definite rules
which should be understood by horsemen and farmers.
When a horse is brought in for sale a sign stating how the horse is to be
sold is immediately exposed on the auctioneer’s rostrum. There are six of
these signs, viz., (1) Sound. (2) Serviceably sound. (3) Wind and work.
(4) Work only. (5) Legs go. (6) At the halter.
Terms on all sales are strictly cash.
All horses must be examined and tried by purchaser as soon as bought, and
must be tried and accepted on the premises during the day of sale, as all
guarantees on horses expire with that day, and on delivery of the horse.
In no case can a horse be rejected except on the day of sale, unless sold
as sound and proved to be a cribber, heavey, crampy or lame. If proven to
have any of the four named faults, the purchaser shall have until 9 A.
M. the following day to reject the horse. Purchasers failing to try and
examine horses within the required time forfeit all right of rejecting
them, and no horse sold to wind and work shall be rejected for any cause
except he proves windy or will not work.
Should any question arise for adjustment between buyer and seller the
matter shall be referred to three members of the Union Stock-yards Horse
Exchange, the decision of a majority of whom shall be final.
Any person found guilty of doping a horse to hide the fact that the
animal is windy, heavey, crampy, cribby or lame, shall be expelled from
the market and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
The following is an explanation of the principal rules governing sales in
the auction ring:
=1. Sound.=—A horse sold as sound must be perfectly sound in every way.
=2. Serviceably Sound.=—Must be virtually a sound horse. His wind and
eyes must be good: he must not be lame or sore in any way, but sound,
barring slight blemishes, and these blemishes must not constitute any
unsoundness. A spot or streak in the eye, which does not affect the
sight, will be considered serviceably sound as long as the pupil of the
eye is good. A further explanation is given as follows by F. J. Berry
& Co., a well-known horse commission firm at the Chicago Stock-yards:
“Blemishes must be nothing more than splints; the horse may be slightly
puffed and a little rounding on the curb joint, but he must not have a
bad-looking curb, and must not have a brand. He may be a little cut in
the knees, but he must not stand over on the knees or ankles. He may
have a little puff on the outside of the hock, but he must not have
thoroughpin, or boggy-hock, ringbone, or jack, although he may naturally
be a little coarse jointed; but the front part of the hocks inside must
not be puffed. He may have slight scars or wire marks but these must not
cause any deformity of the body, legs or feet, and must be nothing more
than a slight scar. He must not have any scar from fistula or poll-evil.
He must not have a hip down, and if one hip is a trifle lower than the
other, it must be natural, and not a deformity like the cap of a hip
down. He must not have side-bone, or any bad blemishes that deteriorate
his value more than a trifle, but must be sound, barring slight blemishes
that do not hurt him or change his value very little, and in no case more
than the above-mentioned blemishes. Car bruises must be of a temporary
nature.”
=3. Wind and Work.=—A horse sold to wind and work, must have good wind
and be a good worker, and not a cribber, but everything else goes with
him.
=4. Work Only.=—He must be a good worker, but everything else goes with
him. Ability to work is the only thing guaranteed.
=5. Legs Go.=—Everything that is on the horse’s legs go with him. Nothing
is guaranteed except that he must not be lame or crampy. He must,
however, be serviceably sound in every other respect.
=6. At the Halter.=—Sold just as he stands without any recommendations.
He may be lame, vicious, balky, a kicker or anything else. The title only
is guaranteed; the purchaser takes all the risk.
[2] Exceptions to the above rules may be announced from the
auction stand and defects pointed out, in which case they are
recorded and go with the horse.
Reputable Dealers Protect Their Patrons.
The horse buyer who patronizes a reputable commission firm or dealer in
the Chicago horse market, or in any other great selling centre, will be
honestly and fairly dealt with. The rules against cheating are stringent,
and trickery is not countenanced among the leaders of the trade. Doping
an unsound horse may be punished by expulsion from the market, and
tricks, like the application of “soup” to make a horse act mean, are
prohibited on “horse row.” It is when a buyer deals with a “scalper”
who conducts his business “under his hat,” or patronizes the dealers
who conduct a questionable business at small sales stables on the side
streets near the stock-yards, that he may expect to get “the short end of
the deal,” and we would strongly advise our readers to give such dealers
and sales stables a wide berth.
As an illustration of how dishonesty is regarded among horsemen in some
of the markets, the following well-authenticated incident may be told.
In Kansas City a horse that had been overdosed with drugs to conceal the
symptoms of heaves dropped dead while climbing an incline. The story of
the “accident” spread through the market, and the next morning, when
the owner of the drugged horse offered another of his animals in the
auction ring, the auctioneer is said to have stopped, told the story to
the audience, pointed out the man who gave the drugs and the owner, and
added, “Now, this man has a load of horses to sell to-day and you folks
can be your own judges about buying them.”
The seller from the country is as likely to “put up a job” on the
commission man or dealer as the latter is to cheat the greenhorn buyer,
and we agree with Dr. Hawley, who says: “Horsemen in general are not more
dishonest than men in any other branch of business which offers like
opportunities for trickery; neither do I believe they are more dishonest
than the men who buy from them.”
Two Sides to a Horse.
When a horse is first led out for the intending buyer to examine him
in the dealer’s stable, it is a common trick to stand the animal close
against a wall. By this means objectionable features of the “other side
of the picture” are hidden, and the pleasing aspects of the proposition,
plain to the eye and hand of the purchaser, alone are considered by him
in making his choice. If the horse is sold subject to such examination
and without a written guaranty, there is no recourse for the purchaser
when, perchance, the next hour or day he finds on the off side of the
horse a “wall-eye,” a brand mark, a big shoe boil, a knocked-down hip, a
fistula of the withers, or some other objectionable and troublesome or
even seriously hurtful blemish or condition.
The intending purchaser should get the horse away from the wall and make
a tour of inspection around him, looking carefully at every part and
detail, and then using the hand, if necessary, to corroborate or correct
what the eye has seen or suspected. It is always best to look at the
horse from a little distance before closing in, and making a more careful
inspection. Close inspection deals with minute things, and may make one
overlook or fail to see bigger and more important things which would
appeal to the eye when taking in the entire side of the horse at a look.
When a dealer is extra particular to draw attention to one side of the
animal, take it for granted that there is something on the other side
which is worth looking into.
A Little Ill to Distract Attention from a Big One.
Often we have seen tricks such as the following practised in the “bull
ring” at the stock-yards. A horse having a small spot or speck in its
eye which does not implicate the pupil, is sold to “wind and work” (See
Auction rule No. 3, page 50).
The grooms and ringmen loudly draw the attention of the audience to the
condition of the eye, and repeatedly assert that it does not amount to
anything. This is done on purpose to distract attention from some far
more serious defect that otherwise would be noticed by the prospective
buyer. Dr. Hawley says of this scheme, “The horse is kept constantly in
motion with the whip. The auctioneer and salesman are always looking for
an angel to drop in, and one usually does. The horse is ordinarily sold
to the angel on his first bid.”
Beware of Hoof Dressing.
When the hoofs of a sale horse are seen to be newly daubed with black
hoof dressing, polish, or varnish, look out! or rather, look in! for
there may be vital need of the artificial coating to hide serious
defects. The dressing, if wet, will soil the examiner’s hands, hence he
will be less likely to handle the feet and therefore fails to discover
that a quarter crack or sand crack has been concealed, or the fact that
the hoof has been rasped extensively for the removal of the rings and
ridges that if exposed to the notice of the prospective buyer, would tell
a plain story of chronic founder.
The sound, healthy, waxy appearing hoof needs no coloring or dressing
material, and when such things are freely used they are often applied to
hide the marks of the rasp.
Buying a Pair.
While a properly matched and trained pair of carriage horses should “act
like one horse” when in motion, the buyer should be careful to examine
each horse carefully “to halter.” The two animals should be capable of
being harnessed to the carriage indifferently to the right or left, and
no attention should be paid to the observations of the dealer, who may
explain how they have been accustomed to be driven always on the same
side, and who, as a rule, will harness the better one of the two horses
on the left side, and the poorer one on the right. The examiner naturally
pays most attention to the left horse, but he should examine each in a
thorough manner, for it often happens when this is done that one horse is
found to be of far inferior quality and of less value than its mate, on
the “nigh side.”
A “High English” Guaranty.
A thrifty German truck farmer once called the writer to examine a newly
bought work horse and to give him “a line” so that he would be able to
get his money back from the dealer, the animal having proved unsound. “I
have me a written guaranty and a witness that he been all right,” said
he, “and now you help me oudt mit a line.” An examination showed that
the horse was terribly afflicted with heaves, accompanied with coughing
and passing of gas. He heaved so hard that his entire body shook, and
the squeaking of the breathing apparatus was easily heard. Evidently
the horse had been skilfully “shut” or doped by the seller, and now
that the effects of the treatment had passed off the unsoundness showed
up plainly. Asked for his “guaranty,” the farmer kept iterating and
reiterating his statement that it was all right and duly witnessed. At
last he produced it, and it read to this effect, “This horse is hereby
guaranteed free from all encumbrances.”
“Do you know what ‘encumbrances’ means?” he was asked, and the answer
was, “No, I don’t know such high English words, but I guess it means
sound and all righdt in wint and limb, and to work, aind’t it?”
He got his “line,” and by paying $80 to boot brought back another horse
with a less comprehensive but more satisfactory guaranty.
Moral: It is best to understand “high English” and the language and
ways of the dealer when buying a horse at the yards, so that a written
guaranty may really protect the buyer.
An Unsound Horse Sometimes a Good Bargain.
Some kinds of unsoundness render a horse useless for work on the hard
streets of the city, yet do not unfit him for work on the soft land of
the farm. Where this is the case, it will often pay the farmer whose
pocketbook is not particularly well filled to pass by the young, soft,
untried, expensive horses that have been specially fattened to bring high
prices and buy a second-handed horse at a bargain price.
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.
Splitting the Profit Three Ways.
In the great horse markets, when a gentleman’s coachman, or a man who is
deemed by him to be an expert judge, is commissioned to buy a certain
style of horse at not over a stated price, the expert can easily arrange
to make a double profit. He seeks out some scalper friend, and gives him
a detailed description of the sort of horse wanted. The scalper then
visits the stable of his associates in the business, selects a horse that
“looks like the job” and secures an option on him at a price considerably
lower than the buyer has said he will be willing to pay. He now brings
in the expert, and if the horse suits that worthy, he is purchased at
the option price and turned over to the employer of the expert at his
specified price or a trifle less. Then the scalper and the expert divide
the profit, or if another man “on the inside” has been used in the deal,
the profit is “split three ways,” to give him a slice. The buyer is
usually well satisfied with his bargain, and probably could not have
bought the horse cheaper at first hand.
A Glossary of Market Terms.
In each of the great horse markets of the country certain technical,
trade and slang terms are used in speaking of horses, and the intending
buyer will do well to familiarize himself with them, else he may learn
their meaning by dear-bought experience. In preparing the following
glossary many of the terms explained are such as one hears in the Chicago
market and elsewhere, and the writer has also freely quoted from an
article entitled, “The Veterinary Horse Buyer,” from the pen of Dr. H.
W. Hawley, V. S., in the Chicago Veterinary College “Quarterly Bulletin”
for June, 1903, and from Bulletin No. 122 of the Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station, in which Prof. Rufus C. Obrecht deals elaborately
and instructively with the subject of “Market Classes and Grades of
Horses and Mules.” In many instances it has been thought well to explain
technical matters relating to practical subjects as well as to interpret
the special term used by horsemen.
=A Bull.=—If a horse grunts when stood against a wall and threatened
with a stick or whip, he is called a bull (or grunter) and by many is
considered unsound in wind, or a roarer. The test is not conclusive, as
not all roarers grunt and many sound horses grunt when so treated, or
even when the rider places his foot in the stirrup. It is also used to
describe a wind-broken horse that chokes at work. A heavey horse does not
grunt when tested in the above mentioned manner.
=A Bull Heaver.=—A bad choker.
=A Canard.=—A bit windy.
=A Cold Collar.=—Balky.
=Afraid of the Floor.=—Has chorea, or St. Vitus’ dance.
=A Gravel.=—Suppurating corn. It is not due to gravel.
=A Little Careless.=—Knees bent forward, or sprung.
=A Little Coarse or Full in the Hock.=—Spavin.
=A Little Nappy.=—A little balky, or a dummy.
=A Little Ouchey.=—Founder, or navicular disease.
=A Little Strong in the Mouth.=—A cribber.
=A Little Stamp On.=—Branded.
=A Little Reading on Him.=—Branded.
=A Little Rounding.=—Curb.
=A Hole In.=—There is “a hole in” a horse when he has some defect
temporarily non-apparent.
=An Angel.=—A greenhorn buyer who bids on an unsound horse. He usually
gets him on his first bid.
=At the Halter.=—“Sold to halter,” or “at the halter” means without
guarantee of any kind. The horse likely will be wild, balky, unmanageable
or so unsound as to be useless.
=Beefy Hocks.=—Coarse, meaty hocks having too much connective and adipose
tissue. The hock should be clean, hard, free from beefiness, puffs and
bony growths.
=Bellows to Mend.=—Wind-broken; heaves.
=Bench-Legged.=—Knees bent toward one another.
=Blind-Spavin.=—Occult or hidden spavin among bones composing hock joint.
=Blue Eye.=—Eye showing a bluish or pearly cast, indicating unsoundness
and disease which may or may not have caused blindness.
=Bobber or Jig Back.=—Weak loins causing bobbing or wobbling of the hind
quarters.
=Boggy in Hocks.=—Distension of the capsular ligament of the hock joint
indicated by a large or small, soft, fluctuating, synovia-filled swelling
at the front of joint. Such hocks appear dropsical. The condition
constitutes bog-spavin, and by some is termed wind-puff or wind-gall.
=Bowed Tendon.=—A thickened, bulging unsoundness of the back tendons
(flexors). Caused by an injury.
=Broken Crest.=—Coarse, thick, broken over crest under mane. Seen in
stallions. Sometimes used to mean fistulous withers.
=Broken Down.=—Fetlock bending too near ground, or tendency of toe to
turn up as a result of injury to the tendons. Cause of acute lameness at
time of accident.
=Broken Knees.=—Scarred knees showing results of a fall. May be new or
chronic. Especially objectionable in saddlers.
=Buck-Kneed.=—Knees bent forward.
=Buck-Shinned.=—Bulging profile of front of cannon bones.
=Bull Pen.=—A horse auction sale ring.
=Burglar or Robber.=—This is an expression used by “gyp” dealers to
denote a good-looking horse with some slight defect which they can
remedy temporarily. This horse is sold, the buyer discovers his defect
in a short time and brings him back and trades him in or sells him at a
reduced price. Such a horse is stock in trade and the “gyps” sell him
over and over again, trade him in and make money on him every time.
=Calf-Kneed.=—Opposite of buck-knees. Knees bent backward.
=Capped Hock.=—New and sore, or old and painless, swelling or callous of
the point of the hock joint; due to bruise.
=Careless.=—A horse is “a little careless” when he stands with knees
sprung.