THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 247 



dock is wanted, the hair in the tail is cut off in bang fashion 

 without otlier trimming'. If some otlier style is wanted, the 

 man with shears must make that st^ie, for the veterinary *s 

 part of the fashion ends with the docking and pricking. 



The fashion in New York is to put a long dock, with square 

 or fan ends, on a heavy brougham horse. To secure the 

 proper effect on a tail of this nature, there must be an ample 

 sup]3ly of long hair before the docking is done. A long bang- 

 is the favorite st^de of tail for the saddle horse, and when 

 properly trimmed it becomes a desirable style for the the 

 coach horse. It is said to be the most abused of smy stj^le, 

 as stablemen who want to imitate fashion, and at the same 

 time rid themselves of much trouble in cleaning and comb- 

 ing, can clip the hair without removing the tail. 



A long, heavy tail is the fashion on heav}^ slow-moving, 

 high-stepping coach horses, while the "pancake," which is 

 short, but, instead of being cut square, is trimmed to hang 

 with rounded ends, is a style for riding to saddle or in a two- 

 wheeler. 



What are known as cob horses are the kind of horses 

 generally docked. In the language of a stableman, a cob 

 is a little horse, big at both ends. By that is meant a full 

 made horse that is not too large for carriage or family use. 

 Cobs come from all sections of the country, and are of no 

 particular breed. They bring a much larger price with 

 docked tails than without. Docking is an " English " fash- 

 ion, and that is why it is now so jDopular in America. It is 

 sometimes desirable to dock a horse to cure him of ugliness 

 and kicking, but full}^ ninety-nine of every one hundred 

 horses docked have their tails cut off because their owners 

 want to live up the fashion of the times. — Boston Herald. 



