64 DOMESTIC AIsIMALS. 



places where the skin is most sensitive are avoided as mnch as thorough 

 cleanliness will allow, he will gradually lose the recollection of former 

 ill-treatment, and become tractable and quiet. 



Vicious to Shoe. — The correction of this is more peculiarly the busi- 

 ness of the smith ; yet the master should diligently concern himself 

 with itjfor it is oftener the consequence of injudicious or bad usage than 

 of natural vice. It may be expected that there will be some difficulty 

 in shoeing a horse for the first few times. It is an operation that gives 

 him a little uneasiness. The man to whom he is most accustomed 

 should go with him to the forge ; and if another and steady horse is 

 shod before him, he may be induced more readily to submit. It cannot 

 be denied that, after the habit of resisting this necessary operation is 

 formed, force may be sometimes necessary to reduce our rebellious ser- 

 vant to obedience ; but we unhesitatingly affirm that the majority of 

 horses vicious to shoe are rendered so by harsh usage, and by the pain 

 of correction being added to the uneasiness of shoeing. It should be 

 a rule in every forge that no smith should be permitted to strike a horse, 

 much less to twitch or to gag him, without the master-farrier's order ; 

 and that a young horse should never be twitched or struck. There are 

 few horses that may not be gradually rendered manageable for this 

 purpose by mildness and firmness in the operator. They will soon un- 

 derstand that no harm is meant, and they will not forget their usual 

 habit of obedience ; but if the remembrance of corporal punishment 

 is connected with shoeing, they will always be fidgety, and occasionally 

 dangerous. 



Swallowing Without Grinding. — 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. 



Some greedy horses habitually swallow their grain without properly 

 grinding it, and the power of digestion not being adequate to the dis- 

 solving of the husk, no nutriment is extracted, and the oats are voided 

 whole. This is particularly the case when horses of unequal appetite 

 feed from the same manger. The greedy one, in liis eagerness to get 

 more than his share, bolts a portion of his grain whole. If the farmer, 

 without considerable inconvenience, could contrive that every horse 

 shall have his separate division of the manger, the one .of smaller appe- 

 tite and slower feed would have the opportunity of grinding at his 

 leisure, without the fear of the gi-eater share being stolen by his neigh- 

 bor. 



Some horses, however, are naturally greedy feeders, and will not, 

 even when alone, allow themselves time to chew or grind their grain. 

 In consequence of this they carry but little flesh, and are not equal to 

 severe work. If the rack was supplied with hay when the grain was 

 put into the manger, they will continue to cat on, and their stomachs 

 will become distended with half-chewed and indigestible food. In con- 

 sequence of this they will be incapable of considerable exertion for a 

 long time after feeding, and, occasionally, dangerous symptoms of stag- 

 gers will occur. 



The remedy is, not to let such horses fast too long. The nosebag 

 should be the companion of every considerable journey. The food 



