DOCKING AND NICKING. 



" He jests at scars that never felt a wound." 

 The above are very cruel operations, and at a not 

 very remote period were almost universally practised, but 

 of late years, regular feeding and kind treatment have been 

 found to be excellent substitutes, as they cause the 

 horse to carry his tail to the general satisfaction.* 



Docking is nothing more nor less than cutting off 

 the horse's tail, and is often attended with danger. The 

 operation is performed safest by a professional man, who 

 uses an engine or machine made for the purpose. After 

 the tail is taken off the raw stump is seared with a hot 

 iron to stop the bleeding, and the part is powdered with 

 resin, likewise touched with a hot iron, to melt and run it 

 over the wound. This is the general process of docking, 

 and the operation is attended with the greatest risk when 

 it is performed by a careless, unskilful, and unfeeling 

 operator, especially if the horse is fat or fleshy, who cuts 

 or chops the tail off too near the rump. 



Nicking means cutting four or five gashes across the 

 under side of the tail, for the purpose of giving the horse 

 an elegant appearance by causing the tail to curve. The 

 first nick (as it is called) is started a few inches (say three) 

 from the rump, and the others at equal distances according 

 to the length of the tail. The most cruel part of the 

 operation consists in taking a portion of the tendons 

 out of the tail. The amount of pain that the horse en- 



* See " Crupper Dock," in article " Fitting the Harness." 





