OF FARRIERY. 



4&5 



a too sharp comb, or rubbed too hard with an 

 uneven brush, the recolleclion of the torture 

 they may have felt, makes them impatient, 

 and even vicious, during every succeeding 

 operation of the kind. Many grooms, like- 

 wise, seem to deHght in producing these 

 exhibitions of uneasiness and vice ; although 

 when they are carried a little too far, and en- 

 danger the limbs of the grooms, the animals 

 that have been almost aggravated into these 

 expressions of irritation, are brutally kicked 

 and punished. 



This, however, is a vice which may be con- 

 quered by care. If the animal is dressed 

 with a light hand, and whisped rather than 

 brushed, and the places where the skin is 

 most sensitive be avoided as much as thorough 

 cleanliness will allow, the Horse will gradu- 

 ally lose the recollection of former ill treat- 

 ment, and may become tractable and quiet to 

 be cleaned. 



Vicious to shoe. Nothing can be more an- 

 noying to a traveller than having a Horse of 

 this description meeting with an accident on 

 the road, which demands the attention of the 

 smith. The smith is no better pleased than 

 the Horse's rider, who has got to perform a 

 job which he would rather be without ; and 

 this vice, nine times out of ten, has been 

 caused by want of patience, and by injudici- 



ous management at the commencement of the 

 Horse being shod. 



This is a very serious vice, for it not only 

 exposes the animal to occasional severe injury 

 from his own struggles, but also from the 

 correction of the irritated smith, whose limbs, 

 and even whose life being in jeopardy, may 

 be forgiven, if he is sometimes a little too 

 heavy-handed. Such a Horse is very liable, 

 and without any fault of the smith, to be 

 pricked and lamed in shoeing ; and if the 

 habit should be confirmed, and it becomes 

 necessary to cast him, or put him in the 

 trevis, the owner may be assured that no long 

 time will elapse before some formidable and 

 even fatal accident will take place. If there- 

 fore, mild treatment will not correct the vice, 

 the Horse cannot be got rid of too soon. 



Horses have many unpleasant habits in the 

 stable and on the road, which cannot be said 

 to amount to vice, but which materially lessen 

 their value. 



Ciih-biling. The only remedy is a muzzle, 

 with bars across the bottom, wide enough to 

 enable the animal to eat his corn and pull his 

 hay, but not to grasp the edge of the manger. 

 If this be worn a very long time, the Horse 

 may possibly forget the habit; but in the 

 majority of cases, the desire returns with the 

 power of gratifying it. 



