TRANSPORT BY RAIL. 267 



On board they are made to squat, arranged closely along the deck 

 with their heads inwards, athwart the ship, and a rope is passed round 

 both forearms and over the neck to prevent rising. When the ship is 

 under way they may be permitted to rise. They require a deck 8 feet 

 6 inches high to stand comfortably. During rough weather they must be 

 camped and secured as described. Sand is provided to give them 

 foothold on deck. 



Owing to the long periods camels are compelled to squat (camp) 

 during rail or sea journeys any wound at the bend of the knee or hock 

 is very likely to become much aggravated during a voyage, and, if 

 possible, such cases should not be embarked. 



Railway Transport. 



Trucks.— An'imsds are conveyed in trucks, or horse-boxes. Whenever Trucks, 

 it is possible they should be stood at the ends of the trucks parallel to the 

 rails, facing each other, but unless the truck is specially fitted, as in India, 

 or it is possible to fix temporary bars across each side of the door, this 

 arrangement cannot be made and they are then placed across the truck 

 with their head ropes tied to the sides. To prevent horses being frightened 

 their heads should not face towards passing trains. 



Closed trucks not specially fitted are very hot and should be avoided 

 if possible. If there is no arrangement for tying up the horses their head 

 ropes should be looped up before they are lelt. English cattle trucks hold 

 six to nine horses, according to size ; Cape trucks eight to ten ; Indian vans 

 eight to ten. 



Eiitraiiiing. — If from a platform the sides of the door let down and form Entrain- 

 a bridge to the truck ; if not from a platform, a ramp must be specially ing- 

 provided, and where it is known beforehand that this will be the case, 

 temporary gangways with suitable cross battens to give foothold should 

 be provided. The only difficulty which occurs is from the nervousness of 

 some horses to step across or up the ramp. This with untrained animals 

 may give considerable trouble (see " Method of Dealing with Troublesome 

 Animals during Embarkation "), but with troop horses practice in entraining 

 should be part of their normal training and regularly carried out. Where 

 dummy waggons exist for this practice, the space between the platform 

 and the carriage should be accurately represented, as this is the cause of 

 hesitation in horses trained on a dummy with a solid ramp to the truck's 

 ^^^•gQ. Horses should be led quietly into the trucks, a reliable one chosen 

 to lead, and the man stepping in without looking back at the horse ; if 

 one goes in, the rest fo low easily, though some will always jump in. The 



