The better way to test the horse’s wind is to lock the rear wheels of a wagon by thrusting a strong stick between the spokes from one wheel to the other; then make the horses pull the wagon at a run and be at their heads the moment they stop. Such horses may not be true roarers but mechanical chokers with thick, bull necks or enlarged throat glands. These are practically sound and only roar when pulling a heavy load up hill or on getting the chin down close to the chest. Keeping a Horse on Edge. A horseman of the old school writes: “When dealers have had a horse some time in their stables, they exercise him with a whip two or three times a day, so that when a ‘chapman’ goes to look at him, they have only to stir their hand with the whip in it. Under such conditions it is hard to say whether the horse, fearful of a drubbing, is lame or not, and a good judge may be deceived.” In another place he says: “A horse that goes with his fore feet low is very apt to stumble and there are some that go so near the ground that they stumble most on even road, and the dealers, to remedy this, put heavy shoes on their feet, for the heavier a horse’s shoes are, the higher he will lift his feet.” “An Eye for An Eye.” The buyer should have a keen look out for the eye of the horse; otherwise he may easily make sad mistakes in the market. The pupil of the eye should contract when the horse comes out into the light. If it does not, the eye is blind, or at least unsound. Such eyes have an unnatural appearance which should attract the attention of the alert examiner, but he will be very apt to overlook the blindness if the horse is led out into the bright sunshine. Where a horse has recently become blind from periodic ophthalmia (moon blindness), he may still be able to detect a bright light, and so when exposed to sunshine, may throw up his head and look directly at the sun. This act makes the examiner liable to consider the eyes sound. Periodic ophthalmia, as suggested by the term, comes on at intervals, but eventually after repeated attacks ends in blindness of one or both eyes. A horse that has had a few attacks, causing a slight opacity of the cornea (scum), is a favorite with the scalper, as he can be bought cheap, treated for the temporary clearing up of the eyes, and sold at a profit to an unwary buyer. The disease is incurable, and its presence is to be suspected when the eyebrow appears triangular and wrinkled, and the eye looks smaller than its mate, or a healthy eye, and is retracted into the orbit. Unscrupulous buyers sometimes render a horse temporarily blind by chewing whole flaxseed to a pulp and smearing it in the eye. By washing a cloudy, sticky-looking eyeball, this trick is readily discovered. A horse may also be rendered temporarily blind by the administration of certain drugs.