200 ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



4. Loads cannot be too flat ; the flatter they are the closer they He 



to the saddle and the less oscillation. 



5. Loose girths are a serious evil, so also is a slack surcingle ; the 



former allows the saddle to oscillate, the latter permits the load 

 to sway about. 



The alterations to a pack saddle which has produced injury are not 

 difficult. From what has been said it must be determined whether there 

 is any fault actually present in the saddle, or whether it is a case of 

 unskilful adjustment of the load. For our present purpose we shall assume 

 the saddle is at fault, though the latter is, perhaps, more common. 



Injuries to the withers can only be from the arch being too low or too 



narrow ; the former is rare, the latter common. A low arch damages the 



top of the withers, a narrow arch pinches the sides. There is no other 



remedy for the latter but to change the saddle for one wider in the arch. 



Chamber- Chamberi7ig pa7i7iels. — All injuries arising from the side bars or load 



'"^ are remedied through the pannel, either by increasing the stuffing if the 



panne s. p^nnels are thin, or by chambering them. A chamber is a depression 



in the pannel intended to take all bearing off a tender or injured place. 



It is a method of the highest value, but requires intelligence to direct its 



utility. 



It seems a mere truism to say that a chamber must correspond to 

 the position of the injury, yet this is one of the most common faults in 

 connection with them ; they do not correspond, or not with that accuracy 

 which is essential. They require to protect the wound and the tender 

 region around it, and this can only be secured by most careful fitting. A 

 chamber badly placed is more than useless. 



The position of a chamber is ascertained by looking at the mark of 

 blood on the pannel ; or if there is no stain the injury should be lightly 

 covered with lard or vaseline, the saddle put accurately in its place, girthed 

 up, and then removed. The mark on the pannel tells us all we require 

 to know. The part is then indicated with pencil for the guidance of the 

 saddler, and his work consists in stitching around this mark, after having 

 first removed the stuffing completely from the area, and finally pushing 

 the stuffing up against the stitches, so that a concavity is formed as 

 deep as the pannel is thick. 



A chamber can be made in a few minutes by anyone with sufficient 

 intelligence to push a needle through leather ; as a rule it is left to the 

 saddler, but only the technical work should fall to an already fully 

 occupied artificer. Every non-commissioned officer connected with 

 transport should be able to chamber a pack saddle, and have the needful 

 appliances by him. 



