MOSS LITTER — MUD FEVER 



in America that his blood is being lost, and efforts are now 

 being made to resuscitate the race. 



Moss Litter. — See Bedding. 



Mouldy Forage is not merely a non-nutritious but a 

 most dangerous food to give a horse. Special care should 

 therefore be taken to avoid using it, as unprincipled vendors 

 are not above mixing damaged stuff with sound, in order to 

 deceive their customers. (See Feeding, Hay, Inflammation, 

 Oats.) 



Moustache. — The tuft of hair which appears on the 

 upper lip of some heavy horses, and is regarded as a proof 

 of underbreeding. 



Mouth. — The position of this portion of a horse's 

 anatomy is, of course, obvious, but the term possesses a peculiar 

 meaning of its own, as it has come to be associated with the 

 amenity a horse displays to the control of the bit. A fine 

 mouth is a sensitive mouth which readily yields to the touch 

 of the rider's or driver's hand ; a hard mouth is one which is 

 callous, and uninfluenced by the bit. As a rule, a bad or 

 hard mouth is the result of bad breaking and over-bitting. 

 (See Bits, Bitting, Motit/iing.) 



Mouthing is the process of discovering the correct design 

 of bit that suits a particular horse the best, and accustoming 

 him to the use of it. A careless or ignorant person can 

 easily ruin the sensitive mouth of a horse by making him 

 wear a severe bit, which, though it may control his restiveness 

 for a time, eventually renders him indifferent to the pressure 

 it causes, and hence constitutes him a very real source of 

 danger to those about him, as he is liable to get out of control 

 at any minute. (See Bits, Bitting, Breaking, Mouth.) 



Mud Fever is similar in some respects to cracked heels, 

 only that the seat of the trouble is the belly. It is a very 



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