258 THE HORSE. 
first occasion, the attempt is not repeated. The strap is buckled suff- 
ciently tight to do this, without much impeding the act of swallowing, or 
the flow of blood from the head, through the jugular veins to the body; 
but in confirmed cribbers no ordinary pressure will suffice, and then the 
head often becomes affected from the impediment which is caused to the 
return of the blood from the brain to the heart. ‘To remedy this defect 
Mr. Cook, Saddler, of Long Acre, two or three years ago, invented a 
neck strap, containing a number of prongs, which pass through holes in a 
spring guard, and unless this is strongly pressed, they do not touch the 
skin. It is applied by throat straps to an ordinary head collar, and in 
slight cases it is found to answer most perfectly, but when the vice has 
become confirmed, and the desire to indulge in it is very strong, the pain 
occasioned by the prongs is endured, and no effect at all is produced. It 
is not therefore of much use, as the common strap does no injury in 
those cases where Mr. Cook’s is effectual, and the latter will not avail 
when the plain strap is forbidden, on account of the extreme pressure 
required. I cannot, therefore, recommend any plan but such as will 
totally prevent the prehension of the manger, and this is accomplished by 
one of two ways. In the first of these, the manger itself is either 
concealed, on the principle shown at page 208, or the corn and hay are 
placed on the ground, in a space slightly separated from the rest of the 
stall by a row of bricks, or other similar bodies, which cannot be laid hold 
of. ‘To the concealed manger and rack there is the objection, that while 
the horse is feeding, he can go on cribbing without interruption, and as 
this is the time chiefly chosen for the act, success is only partly achieved. 
Placing the food on the ground is entirely successful in stopping the 
habit, but it leads to some waste of provender, as the horse is apt to tread 
upon it, after which he will refuse to eat it. By far the best preventive, 
in my opinion, is the bar muzzle, consisting in an iron frame work, 
covering the lips and nose, and suspended from the head by a leather 
BAR MUZZLE FOR CRIB-BITERS. 
head collar, so that the lips can reach the corn or hay, but the teeth are 
too wide to pass through the bars and seize the manger. This mechanicas 
contrivance is entirely harmless, and perfectly effectual, the sole objection 
to it being the fact that it proclaims the wearer to every one who looks into 
