THE HORSE. 51 



it is covered by false hair, or any other fraud is prac- 

 tised in order to hide it, the offence is punishable. 



This is considered by some as the sure sign of a good 

 horse. What the loss of the hair off the tail has to do with 

 the qualities of the animal we do not pretend to fathom ; 

 perhaps the notion has arisen from the naked stump 

 giving an appearance of width to his quarters. The 

 itching occasioned by disease sometimes makes both 

 good and bad horses to become minus their tails. 



Keeping the tail well and frequently washed with 

 soft soap will always reproduce the hair in the earlier 

 stages, and not unfrequently in cases of long standing. 



Unnerving. 



Horses having had the operation of neurotomy, 

 (popularly called uunerving), performed upon them 

 go free from lameness, with action more or less 

 high, their step being hard and heavy ; the height of 

 action and degree of hardness of tread depend on 

 the way the operation is performed and the place 

 operated upon. To discover whether the high opera- 

 tion has been performed, that is, depriving of feeling 

 every portion of the leg and foot below the marks 

 described, pass the hand along the back sinew ; if the 

 horse catches up the leg sharply, this ought to excite 

 your suspicion. If you find one or too little knobs or 

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