THE HOKSE. 65 



should likewise be of such a nature that it cannot be rapidly bolted. 

 Cliaff should be plentifully mixed with the grain, and, in some cases, 

 and especially in horses of slow work, it should, with the grain, con?»ti- 

 tute the whole of the food. This will be treated on more at large un- 

 der the article "Feeding." 



In every case of this kind the teeth should be carefully examined. 

 Some of them may be unduly lengthened, particularly the fii'st of the 

 grinders; or they may be ragged at the edges, and may abrade and 

 wound the cheek. In the first place the horse cannot properly masti- 

 cate his food ; in the latter he will not; for these animals, as too often 

 liappens in sore-throat, would rather starve than put themselves to much 

 pain. 



Crib-Biting. — This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable de- 

 fect, although not so serious a one as some have represented. The 

 horse lays hold of the manger with his teeth, violently extends his neck, 

 and then, after some convulsive action of the throat, a slight grunting 

 is heard, accompanied by a sucking or drawing in of air. It is not an 

 effort at simple eructation, arising from indigestion. It is the inhalation 

 of air. It is that which takes place with all kinds of diet, and when the 

 stomach is empty as well as when it is full. 



The effects of crib-biting are plain enough. The teeth are injured 

 and worn away, and that, in an old horse, to a very serious degree. 

 A considerable quantity of grain is often lost, for the horse will fre- 

 quently crib with his mouth full of it, and the greater part will fall over 

 the edge of the manger. Much saliva escapes while the manger is thus 

 forcibly held, the loss of which must be of serious detriment in impair- 

 ing the digestion. The crib-biting horse is notoriously more subject to 

 colic than other horses, and to a species difficult of treatment and fre- 

 quently dangerous. Although many a crib-biter is stout and strong, 

 and capable of all ordinary work, these horses do not generally carry 

 so much flesh as others, and have not their endurance. On these 

 accounts crib-biting has very properly been decided to be unsoundness. 

 We must not look to the state of the disease at the time of purchase. 

 The question is, does it exist at all? A case was tried before Lord Ten- 

 terden, and thus decided : "a horse with crib-biting is unsound." 



It is one of those tricks which are exceedingly contagious. Every 

 companion of a crib-biter in the same stables is likely to acquire the 

 habit, and it is the most inveterate of all habits. The edge of the 

 manger will in vain be lined with iron, or with sheep-skin, or with 

 sheep-skin covered with tar or aloes, or any other unpleasant substance. 

 In defiance of the annoyance which these may occasion, the horse will 

 persist in the attack on his manger. A strap buckled tightly round the 

 neck, by compressing the wind-pipe, is the best means of preventing the 

 possibility of this trick ; but the strap must be constantly worn, and its 

 pressure is too apt to produce a worse affection, viz., an irritation in the 

 wind-pipe, which terminates in roaring. 



Some have recommended turning out for five or six months; but this 

 has never succeeded except with a young horse, and then rarely. The 

 old crib-biter will employ the gate for the same purpose as the edge of 

 his manger, and we have often seen him galloping across a field for the 



