The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 241
are liable to, it is not to be wondered at. If the less
show any signs of having been bandaged a well-
grounded suspicion may be entertained that all is not
right. Pay particular attention to the state of the
animal's wind, for if the animal is touched in the wind
he is sure to be " loaded " before going into a fair.
Perhaps my readers may misunderstand the word
" loaded." This is another trick of the unprincipled
professional horse coper. When they have a horse
broken-winded which they wish to sell, they generally
contrive to get some one to make a " swop," i.e.,
exchange ; by doing so they steer clear of the law and
the animal is not returnable. When they are about
bringing the horse out of the stable they load him,
this is done by making up a quarter of a pound of shot
into a ball with soap, and putting it down the animal's
throat. This loading is done to bear down the animal's
stomach and give temporary relief to the animal's lungs,
and many a poor man has found out next day that he
has exchanged a useful horse and given several pounds
to boot for an animal that is not worth fifty shillings.
Another trick which is carried on to a considerable
extent is the art of " bishoping." This is a trick which
takes its name from an unprincipled dealer of olden
times, who was supposed to be the first man who re-
sorted to this piece of roguishness. Bishoping a horse
is done by throwing a horse and putting a large wooden
roller into its mouth while the operator files down its
teeth ; then, with irons made for the purpose, he pro-
ceeds to burn the centre of the teeth, making them
resemble the natural marks in a young horse, so that a
p