EXAMINATION OF HORSES 



quently repeated, and which is brought about by any 

 of the forms of indigestion. Crib-biting is very ob- 

 jectionable. The victim of it imparts it, through 

 imitation, to others, and injures his own teeth, and 

 his digestive track generally, directly he begins to 

 "suck wind." It is truly astonishing how soon these 

 diseases of imitation are contracted. I at one time 

 rode a white pony for six months, during which 

 period I scarcely could tire him ; when one day I 

 had the misfortune to tie him in a stable alongside 

 a "cribber:" he certainly was not in the stable more 

 than twenty minutes, but from that day he began 

 to " crib." This at first was of little consequence, 

 but in a very short time — certainly in less than six 

 weeks — he began to " suck wind ; " then every time 

 I wanted him he was full of wind, and for the first 

 mile or two on the road he was wet all over with 

 perspiration, and he could not be kept in condition. 

 Watching a horse in the stable will not at all times 

 detect this. Sometimes a horse may be for hours, 

 or for days, without the habit ; but we have still 

 another way of detecting it, which I shall mention 

 afterwards, of looking at the incisor teeth for their 

 benig broken and worn, and at the top of the neck 

 for marks made by the "cribbing" strap. 



" Weaving " is a vice which may generally be de- 

 tected by watching a horse in the stable. This, like 

 the last, is a nervous habit which is very objection- 

 able, as it keeps the fore legs in a constant state of 



