1 90 Among Men and Horses. 



evenly distributed pressure which is indispensable to their 

 health. No matter how badly a ship may pitch and roll, a 

 horse with this matting under him can remain in security, 

 either standing up or lying down ; although he would be 

 knocked to pieces on wood flooring, even if it were provided 

 with battens and straw. Some ignorant persons among 

 which class I had to number myself, the first time I took a 

 horse on a long sea voyage imagine that slings are a good 

 thing to put under a horse during rough weather. On the 

 contrary, their employment has the direct effect of taking him 

 off his legs and getting him dashed from side to side in his 

 box. In fine weather they are useful, if the box be too small 

 for the animal to lie down in, and if they be put on slackly, to 

 enable him to rest on them when he chooses. As an improve- 

 ment, I would suggest that the coir matting, which should 

 have a thick ' pile ' on it, be made a little larger than the 

 bottom of the box, so that it may be built up into the sides 

 when the box is being constructed. Then, as long as the box 

 holds together, the coir matting cannot become displaced. 

 The attendant on a valuable horse at sea would do well to 

 provide himself with an equine strait-jacket, which is fully 

 described in my book, Illustrated Horse-Breaking ; for if there 

 be any chance of the horse getting frightened on account of 

 bad weather, and knocking himself about, all the man will 

 have to do to keep the animal safe and sound, is to slip on 

 the strait-jacket, and adjust it as may be required. I cannot 

 help thinking that few, if any, of the persons who have been 

 in charge of horses which, like Blue Gown, Ossary who was 

 own brother to Ormonde, Prince lo and scores of other valu- 

 able animals, have been lost from stress of weather when 

 crossing the Atlantic, knew much about the virtues of thick 

 ' pily ' coir matting and strait-jackets for horses. The two 

 great dangers to which a boxed horse is specially exposed on 

 board ship are : having the box knocked to pieces or carried 

 away by heavy seas coming over the side ; and the horse get- 

 ting tossed, during rough weather, from side to side in his box 



