Horse trader

“ These opportunities came each day when the trader stepped to the front door and whistled for his favorite horse. The intelligent animal was allowed to run free, his master's signal always bringing him to the house on the gallop. It was the one trait in the trader's brutal make-up that savored of humanism ”

“ I took another course in horse trading or mule trading, which almost came to be my undoing. I determined to get rid of Jack. I decided that I would not be aggravated with his laziness and crow-hopping any longer than it took me to find a trade. So on a Sunday, about two weeks after I bought the team, a horse trader pulled into Calias, drew his [Pg 82] prairie schooner to a level spot, hobbled his horses—mostly old plugs of diverse descriptions, and made preparation to stay awhile. He had only one animal, according to my horse-sense (?) ”

“ The respectable trader is very much astonished at the discovery, but makes no resistance. The owner, rejoiced to find his property again, gladly pays the expenses of keeping and goes home. But the respectable trader is very sure to have not the slightest clue to the whereabouts of the man who sold him the horse, and although it was done so publicly that the owner cannot have a doubt of the innocence of the trader, yet, strange to say, nobody knows which direction the thief took, even when he left the settlement. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When I was twenty-four years old I married, settled down on a farm, and as horse-trading seemed to be the business I was especially adapted for, naturally I followed it. Whenever my neighbors wanted a horse that was extra well trained they would come to me, and if I showed them one that could do a few tricks, they liked it none the less, and were not unwilling to pay a little extra for the pains I had taken. ”

“ Is there any market in the world where ignorance is secure from imposition? The world is not yet so honest that the affairs of the horse mart are a subject worthy of its special wonder; and it may be doubted if the principles which regulate the conduct of the horse dealer, are not those which influence the transactions of the most honourable traders. There are men of the highest character living by the sale of horses ”

“ Again, a respectable, first-rate horse dealer succeeds in his profession, not so much by his superior knowledge of the animals he buys, but by the quantity and quality of the eloquence he exerts in selling them. Every hunter, therefore, that is purchased from a great man of this description is necessarily composed of, 1st, his intrinsic value ”

“ Such an horse dealer has a reputation to maintain that is as valuable to him as that of a banker is to him. If you will place confidence in him he is not apt to betray it, for he values his customer and knows that there will probably be other sales to make.
But the dealers who advertise in the newspapers that they will sell from private stables horses worth $500 or $1000 for $100 or $200 are the pirates of the trade. They give one excuse or another why such immense bargains are offered, and they make many sales. ”

“ When thus gathered together, the animals required for any special purpose—fat bullocks for market, or cows and calves for branding—are ridden out of the mass by the stockmen on their well-trained horses, and collected in a separate herd.
There is no more interesting sight than this 'cutting out,' as it is called. The stockman rides into the mass of animals, which opens out uneasily as he enters. A touch of the stock-whip on the selected beast indicates him to the intelligent horse, whose rider practically leaves to him the rest of the work. ”

“ But the stock which remains after such a training [Pg 26] offers many guaranties to the dealer who buys it to transfer, if they suit, to the express and omnibus companies; or if they belong to the draft race, to the contractors, wagoners, and builders, of Paris. At five, he is bought by the horse-dealer at the annual horse fair on St. Andrew’s Day in the town of Chartres. There he is delivered, the farmer leading his horse upon the ground. The prices vary from 1,000 to 1,400 francs. The profit is small, sometimes nothing, the greatest gain being his work, which cannot be dispensed with. ”

“ The neighboring Indians soon drove in some horses to trade, and before night we had disposed of all but four head of our cattle, one yoke of oxen, one yearling heifer, and a yearling calf. The oxen belonged to me. I left them in charge of Mr. Spalding, until my return. In the exchange one horse was given for a cow or heifer. A few horses were purchased for other articles of trade, such as blankets, shirts, knives, &c. The value of fourteen dollars in trade would buy an ordinary horse; if it was an extra horse something more would be asked. Four blankets was the price of a horse. ”

“ They all seemed as if they couldn't keep away from the diggings that first year for their lives.
All stock went up double and treble what they were before. Cattle and sheep we didn't mind about. We could do without them now. But the horse market rose wonderfully, and that made a deal of odds to us, you may be sure.
It was this way. Every man that had a few pounds wanted a horse to ride or drive; every miner wanted a wash-dirt cart and a horse to draw it. The farmer wanted working horses, for wasn't hay sixty or seventy pounds a ton, and corn what you liked to ask for it? ”

“ It hires the horses from the farmers, and makes a moderate profit on each transaction, but saves the traveller from difficulties, delays, and extortions. The prices vary considerably in different districts, and are regulated by the price of forage, the state of the roads, and the number of hireable horses. For a ri, nearly 21⁄2 miles, they charge from 6 to 10 sen for a horse and the man who leads it, for a kuruma with one man from 4 to 9 sen for the same distance, and for baggage coolies about the same. ”

“ Now, there are some dealers who will buy a horse and get fooled on him, and, finding it out, they will take their medicine. They are the kind that will try to get rid of the horse to some other dealer who is supposed to know his business. And there be dealers who would sell anything with a mane and tail to it, to anybody. And the man I speak of was that kind. And that is the great trouble with the horse business. Buying a bad one or a lame one discourages them as would spend their money, and you know, sir, ’tis the money of the amateur horseman that keeps the game going. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Without leaving his seat on the fence, the man said:
"I'll trade for five dollars to boot."
"I'll trade even."
"No, sir," he said, "I'm expecting threshers to-morrow, and have got to have some money to buy meat and groceries with."
"Well, then, I'll give you two dollars and fifty cents, and no more."
"All right; it's a trade. The boy will change them for you."
The lad then led the mare around, and after unhitching the old horse, changed the harness, and after hitching the mare to the wagon I handed him the amount agreed upon, and started on. ”

“ He usually begins with the higher-priced horses, unless he “sizes you up” as lean of pocket-book. But in a large establishment the price you have fixed in your own mind is likely to be arrived at very quickly. Then you must determine whether the horse shown to you is of the quality you desire. ”

“ So we thought to trade him off, and we exchanged him for a pony, and then exchanged the pony for a mare (a good trade) . Unfortunately, I lost the mare, but may still get her back next summer; so I had to get another horse, for which I gave eighty-five dollars.... The money you sent me helped to pay for my former team, wagon, harness, tools, and furniture. Though not elaborate, still it all mounted up.
"... This winter I shall earn all I can, though it is terribly hard to make much this time of year. Boots (rubber) are continually wearing out, and socks too; my heels are like boards. ”

“ What’s the use of farmers being educated to the beauties of the company plan which benefits the bankers, the peddlers, the groom, and the cappers, if we are going to sell the horse direct for cash. It’s only the farmers that make the money by the cash or direct way of buying a stallion. I never met a peddler who was looking out for the farmers’ interests. ”

“ It is noteworthy as proof of our dependence on this class of horse that, even when commerce and agriculture have been passing through a period of depression, at times when customers at any price even for the best classes of other live stock have been difficult to find, heavy draught horses suitable for town work have always remained in brisk demand at remunerative prices. ”

“ But the men who are in the business of producing “graded draught horses” appear to know that business well as the horses sold are handsome, strong, and active, and well adapted for the work for which they were created. This is a business pretty sure to decrease rather rapidly. These graded horses are not the ideal farm horse, although on a large farm where there is a deal of hauling, they serve a very useful purpose. ”

“ The occurrence of trotting bred horses of the finest conformation is by no means uncommon; it is so frequent, indeed, that these animals supply 170not only the demand for roadsters, but the principal part of the fine city trade in carriage horses, and are conspicuous winners at the horse shows. The demand for such horses has been so keen that dealers have resorted to the pernicious practice of buying mature stallions, many of them valuable breeders, and castrating them to be sold later as carriage horses. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The men who make a specialty of horses know every colt and horse in several townships, as well as, or even better than, they do their owners. When a dealer wishes to get together a carload, he applies to such men and can at once get an idea of the quality and prices of all the desirable horses of any particular class in the vicinity, just as readily as if they were all assembled in a market for his inspection. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Often, should a buyer visit a scalper’s stable in the city, he will be shown a fine-looking horse and attractive harness and wagon. The price asked for the horse and outfit is a low one, and the stranger jumps at the chance to acquire the property ”

“ The day before the horse's allowance was to be reduced to pure water, and when its owner's hope appeared certain of speedy realisation, the animal died. There are men who act almost as foolishly as the parsimonious horse owner in this fable did; and who are as properly punished as he was. Such men are to be found in the farmers who overstock their sheep pastures, and whose "lean kine" are the laughing stock of their more intelligent neighbours. ”

“ Yet do the venerable dealers in horse-flesh always plead poverty, and that they have made so very bad a trip, that, on their return home, their affairs must go to ruin: however, they make a shift to come down, year after year, though buying and selling to so much loss!
In selling horses, it is customary to describe their several casts, the same as those of the people of India; thus, an auctioneer advertises a toorky, or a majennis ‘of high cast,’ to be sold on such a day. ”

“ There are some horses for sale in the cattle-market; high-mettled, Arab-like beasts that are often very attractive, but which, very unfortunately, are almost invariably gone at the houghs through the stupid native habit of throwing a galloping horse suddenly back on its hindquarters on hard ground to make a dramatic halt before an audience or a king’s house, by means of pressure on the locally-made cruel bit-iron which projects on to the roof of the mouth. ”