Feeding and Care of the Horse 1819 



fitting harness is likely to abrade the flesh and leave an impression with 

 the horse that he is being punished, which may cause him to develop 

 vicious habits. This is illustrated by the fact that a sore mouth pro- 

 duced by a poorly fitted bridle or bit may induce the horse to run away; 

 often a sore neck or shoulder resulting from an ill-fitting collar makes 

 a horse balk; and often a sore tail produced by an improperly adjusted 

 crupper causes a horse to kick. Since not only the usefulness of the horse, 

 but his safety as well, depends largely on the adjustment of the harness, 

 much careful consideration should be given to this matter. 



Sore neck and shoulders 



Since the service of the horse is largely accomplished by means of the 

 collar, it is of the utmost importance that this fit the neck and shoulder 

 perfectly; and since the shoulders of no two horses are exactly alike, 



Fig. 120. — A well-bred, well-fed, and well-trained lot of three-years-old colts 



each should have his own collar. Unequal pressure due to a poorly 

 fitting collar causes the horse much pain and often results in a sore neck 

 or sore shoulders. In order to avoid such sores, the collar should be 

 properly adjusted. Leather collars are so firm and stiff that it is often 

 difficult to adjust them to the neck and shoulders. In order to overcome 

 this difficulty the poorly fitting collar, whether new or old, should be 

 wrapped round and round with thoroughly wet sacking and allowed to 

 remain so wrapped overnight. In the morning the soaked collar should 

 be adjusted snugly to the horse's neck with the hame straps. Then the 

 horse should be worked moderately through the day. Soaking the collar 

 in this way serves to soften it, after which it will adjust itself to every 

 inequality of the shoulders and the horse will seldom be troubled with 

 soreness. 



