270 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



thing they may come near to ; consequently, 

 either making the hair very rough, or rubbing 

 it off altogether. I perfectly agree with those 

 who advocate the cause of a longer dock than 

 was fashionable some years ago ; for hunters 

 especially, and someof our roadsters, and car- 

 riage-horses, were docked truly ridiculous, 

 however " knowing" it may have been thought 

 to look. The length of the dock must be left 

 to choice ; about nine inches is the general 

 length left now-a-days. When the length 

 has been determined on, the long hair should 

 he fastened back from that part, while about 

 an inch or two below it should be shorn clear 

 frorh surrounding hair. Apply the docking 

 machine to this part, first finding a joint, and 

 the dock is removed at one stroke. Various 

 means have been adopted to stop the bleed- 

 ing ; but none in my opinion is equal to the 

 actual cautery, which if mildly applied, 

 answers every purpose, without after trouble. 

 Simple as this operation may appear, the old 

 farriers make a dreadful fuss over it ; and 

 what with burning the Horse's tail half-off, 

 and their rosin besides, it becomes a matter of 

 wonder that the Horse escapes the disease 

 locked-jaw, which frequently supervenes on 

 docking, and the violence used afterwards ; 

 and I have also seen mortification follow the 

 operation. 



The bleeding would scarcely ever prove 

 fatal, and seldom injure the Horse, therefore 

 there is little necessity for cauterising ; but if 

 the bleeding should continue, all you have to 

 do is to take a handful of flour, and apply it to 

 the end of the dock, and draw all the long 

 hair down over it, and tie as close to the dock 

 as possible. This will soon plug up the ends 

 of the arteries, and stop the bleeding. 



Many persons are very fond of elevating the 



tail, with an idea that the Horse will carry a 

 much superior one, if done so. This is all 

 nonsense, and at the present day ought not to 

 be noticed. If lock-jaw should make its 

 appearance, immediately operate anew, with- 

 out restraining the blood at all, as its loss will 

 be both useful and necessary in such a case. 

 Administer large doses of opium, or if the 

 mouth should be so much closed, laudanum 

 in gruel must be given frequently ; say, an 

 ounce at a time ; of the opium, four drams. 



If it should put on a gangrenous appear- 

 ance, apply oil of turpentine to the part, 

 several times a day. Hot applications be- 

 tween applying the turpentine, will also be of 

 great service. 



NICKING. 



The practice of nicking Horses is now 

 almost out of date. There is little doubt it 

 originated from large fine Horses carrying 

 their tails " tucked in," as it is termed, and 

 which would tend to reduce the value of the 

 Horse much ; except when he happened to be 

 under excitement, then he would carry his tai' 

 erect enough, so that the ingenuity of man 

 thought of nicking, for in the natural state the 

 depressing muscles of the tail are stronger than 

 the erecting ones, and it was to overturn this, 

 and to give the balance of power to the erec- 

 tors, that the operation of nicking became 

 practised. 



With nicking, the same as castration, a 

 favourable time of the year should be selected 

 for it, and that I should recommend to be the 

 spring, when the weather is not too hot or too 

 cold ; for in cold weather the granulating pro- 

 cess may become stopped, and in very hot 

 weather, locked-jaw sometimes is likely to 

 supervene. The modes of securing the Horse 



