COLLARS — COLOURS 



should be obtained. (See Inflammation of the Bowels, Pre- 

 scriptions^ 



Collars. — Great importance attaches to the proper fit of 

 the collar, and hence each horse should always wear his own. 

 If too large, the collar is pretty certain to gall or wring the 

 shoulders, and if too tight it will press on the windpipe 

 and half choke the horse. The best collars are lined with 

 leather and stuffed with horse-hair, and are to be preferred 

 to all others, as the leather does not absorb the moisture 

 and the horse-hair keeps its place better and is more springy 

 than any other stuffing. The inside of the collar should be 

 thoroughly sponged — provided, of course, that it is of leather 

 — when taken off, and in any case should be well dried and 

 aired before being used again, as if worn either in a damp or 

 dirty condition it may injure the skin by chafing. Collars, of 

 course, vary considerably in size, from the heavy ones worn 

 by cart-horses to the narrow ones which can barely accommo- 

 date the hames such as are used for show animals. (See 

 Cleaning Harness, Hames?) 



Colours. — The most common colours amongst horses are 

 chestnut and bay, the former being steadily on the increase, 

 owing, no doubt, to the prepotency of the chestnut sires which 

 have made themselves popular of late. This is particularly 

 evident in the case of the hackney horse, which is rapidly 

 developing into a chestnut breed, to the consternation of dealers 

 who are called upon to supply carriage horses to customers 

 who prefer bays or browns. It may be mentioned, too, that 

 cases in which a chestnut sire and a chestnut dam have been 

 known to produce any but chestnut foals are extremely rare. 

 Browns are still fairly numerous, and so are greys, but black 

 horses are very rarely seen, excepting in connection with 

 funerals. Some difficulty is often experienced in distin- 

 guishing a dark brown from a black, but the question can 

 be settled by the colour of the muzzle, as if this is of a light 

 or mealy shade the horse is described as a brown. Both 



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