260 



A DICTIONARY. 



ment of one leg the horse is effectually 

 secured from lacking with cither. Occasion- 

 ally it is thus applied : hobbles are put 

 on both hind legs, and the rope is passed 

 through eacli of the rings. According to 

 this last method, the horse is actually cast, 

 as he must fall when the ropes are pulled. 

 Take a long rope, and tie a loop in the mid- 

 dle, which is to be of such a size as it may 

 serve for a collar ; pass the loop over the 

 head, letting the knot rest upon the withers ; 

 then take the free ends, pass them through 

 the hobbles, and bring it under the loop. 

 Let two men pull at the ropes, and the hind 

 legs will be drawn forward. 



" Casting. — The objections to this prac- 

 tice arise from the dangers incurred by forc- 

 ing the horse to the ground. IVIr. Bracy 

 Clark simplified casting, by inventing some 

 patent hobbles, having a running chain in- 

 stead of rope, and which, by a shifting D, 

 made the loosening of all the hobbles, for 

 the purpose of getting at a particular leg, 

 unnecessary. These were still further im- 

 proved by IVIr. Budd, so as to render a 

 release from all the hobbles at once practi- 

 cable. Hobble leathers and ropes should be 

 kept supple and pliant with oil, and ought 

 to be always examined previous to using ; 

 nor should the D or ring of the strap be of 

 any other metal than iron. Brass, however 

 thick, is brittle, and not to be depended on. 

 To the D or ring of one pastern hobble, a 

 chain of about four feet long is attached ; to 

 this a strong rope is well fastened, and, ac- 

 cording to the way the horse is to be thrown, 

 this hobble is to be fixed on the fore foot of 

 the contrary side : the rope is then passed 

 from the hobble on the fore foot to the D of 

 the hind foot of that side, then to the other 

 hind foot, and, lastly, through the D of the 

 other fore foot. After this, much of the ease 

 und safety of the throio depend on bringing 

 the legs as near together as possible. This 

 should be done by gradually moving them 

 nearer to each other, without alarming the 

 horse; which will very much facilitate the 

 business, and is really of more moment than 

 is generally imagined. A space sufficiently 

 large should be chosen for the purpose of 



casting, as some horses struggle much, and 

 throw themselves with great violence a con- 

 siderable way to one side or the other ; and 

 they are able to do this if the feet have not 

 been brought 7iear together previous to at- 

 tempting the cast. The place should be also 

 very well littered down. The legs having 

 been brought together, the assistants must 

 act in concert; one particularly should be 

 at the head, which must be carefully held 

 throughout by means of a strong snaffle 

 bridle ; another should be at the hind part 

 to direct the fall, and to force the body of 

 the horse to the side which is requisite. 

 Pursuing these instructions, the animal may 

 be at once rather let down than thrown, by 

 a dexterous and quick drawing of the rope ; 

 the whole assistants acting in concert. The 

 moment the horse is down, the person at the 

 head must throw himself upon that mem- 

 ber, and keep it secure ; for all the efforts of 

 the animal to disengage himself are begun 

 by elevating the head and fore parts. The 

 rope is tightened. The chain is fixed by 

 inserting a hook through one of the links, 

 of sufficient size not to pass the hobbles. 

 When the operation is over, the screw which 

 fastens the chain to the hobble, first put upon 

 one fore leg, is withdrawn. The chain then 

 flies through the D's of the other hobbles, 

 and aU the legs are free, save the fore leg 

 first aUuded to ; the strap of this has to be 

 afterwards unbuckled. There are also other 

 apparatus used in casting, as a strong 

 leathern case to pass over the head, serving 

 as a blind when the animal is being thrown ; 

 and as a protection against his rubbing the 

 skin off his eyes when down. Then a sur- 

 cingle is also used. This is fastened round 

 the horse's body, and from the back hangs a 

 broad strap and a rope : the strap is fastened 

 to the fore leg of that side which it is de- 

 sired should be uppermost ; the line is given 

 to a man who stands on the opposite side 

 to the generafity of the puUers. On the 

 signal being given, the men having hold of 

 the hobble rope puU the legs one way, whfle 

 he who has hold of the rope attached to the 

 surcingle pulls the back in a contrary direc- 

 tion, and the horse is immediately cast 



