THE HORSE. 



from the name of the inventor is often resorted 

 to, for the purpose of imitating the obliterated 

 marks. An engraving tool is employed to cut the 

 surface, and a hot iron is then applied to give a 

 permanent dark stain. This infamous trick may 

 impose on the ignorant ; but a person skilled in 

 horses can easily detect the imposition, from the 

 stains being diffused around the marks, which, 

 moreover, are round instead of oval. 



As a horse, if well treated, remains in excellent 

 working condition till twelve years, and even later, 

 the disappearance of the marks on the teeth is 

 often of little consequence. Some horses are as 

 valuable to their owners at fifteen years as they 

 are at eight ; and for ordinary saddle-work, ten to 

 twelve may be considered an age sufficiently 

 young. It is important, however, that the teeth 

 are capable of mastication ; for if the animal is 

 unable to chew his food properly, he cannot be 

 kept in good condition, or fit for the performance 

 of his duties. In consequence of the very general 

 abuse of horses, few live till twenty-five years old ; 

 and the instances of any living till above thirty are 

 rare. 



Technical Terms. 



Horsemen employ terms to horses which are 

 not strictly adhered to in ordinary language. A 

 male horse left uncut is said to be an entire horse, 

 to distinguish it from the gelding or cut animal. 

 A female horse is always spoken of as a mare. A 

 young male horse is called a colt, and a young 

 female, a filly. Thorough-bred, as already noticed, 

 is applied only to animals whose pedigree can be 

 traced to an Arabian origin, without stain or any 

 common intermixture. When the pedigree of the 

 racer is to a certain degree stained, the animal is 

 called a cock-tail. The term blood is of more loose 

 signification ; but what is generally understood by 

 it is a horse which is thorough-bred, or of the blood 

 of the Arabian, and consequently shews a fine spirit 

 and action. A horse may be half-bred, three parts 

 bred, and so on, according to his pedigree. The 

 half-bred is produced from a racer and a common 

 mare. Some of the best riding-horses are of this 

 stamp. The term welter horse is applied to racers 

 which are able to carry the highest weight 



Horses are measured by hands, four inches 

 being reckoned to the hand ; the measure is taken 

 from the highest point of the withers to the ground. 

 To all the more prominent parts of the body and 

 members, certain technical names are applied; for 

 example, to take the fore extremities first : the 

 muzzle includes the lips, mouth, and nostrils ; the 

 withers are the sharp protuberance over the shoul- 

 ders between the back and neck ; the breast is the 

 counter; the arm is the upper part of the fore-leg, 

 but enveloped in the muscle of the shoulder ; be- 

 neath it is the forearm, which is the higher part of 

 the visible leg, and extends downward to the knee; 

 below the knee we have another stretch called the 

 shank, which extends to the pastern, or, as we 

 might call it, the ankle ; the fetlock is behind the 

 pastern ; beneath are the feet. A few of the 

 hinder extremities are named as follows : the 

 croup, which extends from the loins to the root of 

 the tail or rump ; the flank, extending from the 

 ribs to the haunches ; and the leg or thigh, which 

 reaches down to the hock or middle joint of the 

 hind-leg, corresponding to the knee in the fore- 

 leg. The left side of a horse is called his near 

 side ; and his right, the 



The greater number of British horses are of a 

 dark colour, inclining to black or brown, but of 

 innumerable shades. One kind of brown is called 

 bay, and another the chestnut ; a yellowish chestnut 

 is termed the sorrel The roan is a blending of 

 red and whitish tones. The gray is a mixture of 

 white and black hairs, and in old age becomes 

 altogether white. The dark colours are the most 

 esteemed for their physical qualities, and patches 

 of white on the legs are considered defects or foul 

 markings. 



STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



The horse, as has been already mentioned, pos- 

 sesses very delicate senses, and is nice in his 

 habits, in which respect he differs very materially 

 from black-cattle. When reduced to domestica- 

 tion, care should be taken to violate as little as 

 possible his natural tastes and habits. The lead- 

 ing features of management may be defined as 

 follows : 



The Stable. 



A high authority states it as his belief that nine- 

 tenths of the diseases which afflict horses owe 

 their origin to, or are greatly aggravated by, the 

 defective arrangement and construction of stables. 

 The chief points to be attended to are : the situa- 

 tion of the stable ; its construction, so as to pre- 

 vent damp and secure ventilation ; its size; and its 

 fittings and appendages. A stable should never 

 be built in a marshy or hollow spot, but on a gentle 

 declivity, so as to admit of good drainage, and 

 with a southern exposure, in order to command 

 good light another important point The first 

 tiling in the actual construction is how to secure 

 dryness. The effects of damp on horses are 

 immediately visible in languor, refusal of food, 

 liability to colds and inflammation. Glanders and 

 farcy, if not entirely owing to a humid atmosphere, 

 as some hold, are certainly encouraged and 

 fostered by it. The site of the stable, then, must 

 be surrounded and intersected by smaller drains 

 leading into a main-drain, with a good outfall. 

 The walls again, whether of stones or brick, should 

 be made double the hollow space, in order to pre- 

 vent the lodgment of rats, being not more than 

 two inches wide. To provide against surface- 

 water rising up the walls by capillary attraction, 

 the first course above the ground may be covered 

 with a coating of coal-tar and sand, or with sheet- 

 lead. The roof should have a range of guttering 

 completely round it, and the rain-water should be 

 collected in a tank for use. 



Damp floors are so far provided against by 

 thorough under-drainage ; but a floor completely 

 impervious to moisture from below may be had by 

 constructing it of asphalt, or of flags set in cement, 

 and with grooved surfaces. Good floors are also 

 made of bricks set on edge ; or of tiles with corru- 

 gated surfaces. To prevent the lodgment of the 

 urine of the animals, the floors of the stalls should 

 slope two or three inches in ten feet towards a 

 channel running along behind the horses, which 

 channel should itself have a slope towards the grat- 

 ing or gratings of the drain connected with the 

 liquid-manure tank. These drains should be care- 

 fully trapped. The slope of the stalls has no injurious 

 or incommoding effects on the horse while reclin- 

 ing, as some have imagined. A dry stable-floor is 



