STABLE FITTINGS. 25 



43. Casting in the stall. 



Casting in the stall generally arises from the animal getting his legs 

 entangled in the rope. This accident will rarely happen, where due care 

 is taken in regard to the length of the rope, and the use of a log is 

 insisted on. Casting occasionally arises from the horse endeavouring to 

 turn or roll in his stall. In such cases fastening on both sides, as 

 recommended in the previous paragraph, will be found useful. If any 

 particular horse acquires a habit of rolling, and in consequence fre- 

 quently gets cast, he had better be kept in a loose box. 



44. Head collars and neck straps. 



Some horses are very difficult to secure at night by head collars. All, 

 however, may be effectually fastened by means of a neck strap. A horse 

 cannot slip a neck strap drawn to the proper degree of tightness, because 

 the circle of the strap round his neck is less than that required to go 

 over his head. The objection to neck straps is the injury which they 

 cause to the mane. 



Of head collars the best are those which approach most nearly to the 

 principle of a neck strap. The great point in fitting a head collar is to 

 take care that the back strap is long enough to come close up against 

 the throat. Again, the neck strap should not pass over the crown of the 

 head collar, but through a loop attached in rear of it. The strap round 

 the neck will then be so short, without being unduly tight, that the horse 

 cannot easily get it over his head. See Plate 8. 



45. Foot-fastenings. 



Horses, which break or slip their collars, may all be effectually secured 

 by a strap buckled round one of the fore fetlocks and attached to a peg 

 driven fast into the ground. The strap should be about 12 inches long. 

 It is a practical fact that this fastening will hold almost any horse. A 

 few horses may pull against it for a few days, and perhaps make the 

 fetlock sore. The strap in such case may be shifted to the other fetlock. 

 Almost all horses, however, after a few pulls find themselves powerless, 

 and give up with a good grace the attempt at getting loose. 



46. Muzzles. 



A really good muzzle is yet a desideratum in stable economy. It is 

 difficult to combine free ingress and egress of air with closeness sufficient 

 to prevent a greedy horse sucking in hay and straw. 



Wire muzzles interfere but little with the breathing ; but some horses 

 break even the best of them, whilst most succeed in sucking in a certain 

 amount of hay and straw through them. Leather muzzles are objection- 

 able, because they interfere with the egress of the air. Those made of 

 straps of leather are less injurious than solid leather with air holes. 



A nose band fitted on the collar by closing the mouth answers as well 

 as anything. The horse, it will be remembered, breathes through his 



