DOCKING 



633 



tain an infinitesimal quantity of arsenic, a popular belief which has not been 

 verified to my knowledge. 



DOCKING 



About the advisability of this operation there has been much dispute, and 

 especially since Dr. Fleming was chief veterinary surgeon to the Army. He 

 was instrumental during his term of ofiice in rejecting all remounts that had 

 been docked, it being his opinion that horses suffer less from the annoyance of 

 flies, and use a long tail as a rudder in making short turns. Whatever other 



Fia. IIG.— Docking Knife. 



efiect this oi'der may have had, we know for certain that it keeps out of the 

 ranks a great many suitable horses, since breeders do not keep long tails on 

 their horses for the sake of the beggarly price given by the Army, while a 

 short dock gives a smartness to most horses, displaying their quarters to 

 advantage. Every drill season when the Yeomanry i-egiments are up for 

 " permanent duty," as their ten days' fagging is called, an officer is deputed 

 to purchase any likely-looking nags the troopers may have for sale, but as 

 nine out of ten of them are docked there are very few purchased. 



To say that an operation is not a severe one is not to justify cruelty, and 

 if it is done only to enhance the smartness or the price of the animal it is 

 not defensible, but there are many harness horses in which docking is abso- 

 lutely necessary for the safety of persons using them ; they have long tails, 

 which they swish round in a circle and are prone to catch the reins, a most 

 awkward accident, liable with the best-tempered hoi'se to cause a collision 

 with another vehicle, or provoking a horse to kick in many instances. A 

 great many prosecutions against persons for docking have been conducted at 

 the instance of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 

 but the results are indecisive. If the Bench is largely composed of country- 

 gentlemen with a practical knowledge of horses, the verdict is usually in 



