ng cheated in the purchase of a horse.

Take the case of a foal as yet unbroken: it is plain that our scrutiny
must begin with the body; an animal that has never yet been mounted
can but present the vaguest indications of spirit. Confining ourselves
therefore to the body, the first point to examine, we maintain, will be
the feet. Just as a house would be of little use, however beautiful its
upper stories, if the underlying foundations were not what they ought
to be, so there is little use to be extracted from a horse, and in
particular a war-horse, (4) if unsound in his feet, however excellent
his other points; since he could not turn a single one of them to good
account. (5)

(4) Or, "and that a charger, we will suppose." For the simile see
"Mem." III. i. 7.

(5) Cf. Hor. "Sat." I. ii. 86:

regibus hic mos est: ubi equos mercantur, opertos inspiciunt, ne, si
facies, ut saepe, decora molli fulta pede est, emptorem inducat hiantem,
quod pulchrae clunes, breve quod caput, ardua cervix.

and see Virg. "Georg." iii. 72 foll.

In testing the feet the first thing to examine will be the horny portion
of the hoof. For soundness of foot a thick horn is far better than a
thin. Again it is important to notice whether the hoofs are high both
before and behind, or flat to the ground; for a high hoof keeps the
"frog," (6) as it is called, well off the ground; whereas a low hoof
treads equally with the stoutest and softest part of the foot alike,
the gait resembling that of a bandy-legged man. (7) "You may tell a good
foot clearly by the ring," says Simon happily; (8) for the hollow hoof
rings like a cymbal against the solid earth. (9)

(6) Lit. "the swallow."

(7) Al. "a knock-kneed person." See Stonehenge, "The Horse" (ed.
1892), pp. 3, 9.

(8) Or, "and he is right."

(9) Cf. Virg. "Georg." iii. 88; Hor. "Epod." xvi. 12.

And now that we have begun with the feet, let us ascend from this point
to the rest of the body. The bones (10) above the hoof and below the
fetlock must not be too straight, like those of a goat; through not
being properly elastic, (11) legs of this type will jar the rider, and
are more liable to become inflamed. On the other hand, these bones must
not be too low, or else the fetlock will be abraded or lacerated when
the horse is galloped over clods and stones.

(10) i.e. "the pasterns ({mesokunia}) and the coffin should be
'sloping.'"

(11) Or, "being too inflexible." Lit. "gi