172 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 3. 



may be materially improved; otherwise nothing 1 can 

 be done, except to keep the toe of the hind toot as 

 short and as round as it can safely be, and to bevil 

 off and round the toe of the shoe, li Ice that which 

 has been worn bya stumbler for a fortnight, and, 

 perhaps, a little to lower the heel of the lore 

 foot. 



A blow received on the. heel of the fore foot in 

 this manner has not unfrequently, and especially if 

 neglected, been followed by quittor. 



Pawing. 



Some hot and irritable horses are restless even 

 in the stable, and paw frequently and violently. 

 Their litter is destroyed, the floor of the stable 

 broken up, the shoes worn our, the feet bruised, 

 and the legs sometimes sprained. If this habit 

 does not exist to any Great extent, yet the stable 

 never looks well. Shackles are the only remedy, 

 with a chain sufficiently long to enable the horse 

 to shift his posture, or move in his stall; but even 

 these must be taken off at night, otherwise the 

 animal will seldom lie down. 



Quidding. 



A horse will sometimes partly chew his hay, 

 and sutler it to drop from his mouth. If this does 

 not proceed from irregular teeth, which it will be 

 the business of the veterinary surgeon to rasp' 

 down, it will be found to be connected with sore- 

 throat, and then the horse will exhibit some other 

 symptom ot" indisposition, and the swallowing of 

 watefwill be accompanied by a peculiar gulping 

 effort. In this case the disease (catarrh, with sore 

 throat) must be attacked, and the quidding will 

 cease. 



Rolling. 



This is a very pleasant and perfectly safe 

 amusement lor a horse at grass, but cannot be in- 

 dulged in the stable without the chance of his be- 

 ing dangerously entangled with the collar rein, 

 and being cast. Yet, although the horse is cast, 

 and bruised, and hall-strangled, lie will roll again 

 on the following night, and continue to do so as 

 long as he lives. The only remedy is not a very 

 pleasant one to the horse, nor always quite safe; 

 yet it must be had recourse to if the habit of rol- 

 ling is inveterate, 'The horse,' says Mr. Castley, 

 in the Veterinarian, 'should be tied with length 

 enough of collar to lie down, but not to allow of 

 his head resting on the ground; because, in order 

 to roll over, a horse is obliged to place his head 

 quite down upon the ground.' 



Shying. 



We have briefly treated of the cause of this 

 vice at page 98, and observed that while it is of- 

 ten the result of cowardice, or playfulness, or want 

 of work, it is at other times the consequence of a 

 defect of sight. It has been remarked, and we 

 believe very truly, that shying is oftener a vice of 

 half or quarter-bred horses, than of those who 

 have in them more of the genuine racing blood. 



In the treatment of shying, it is of great impor- 

 tance to distinguish between that which is the 

 consequence of defective sight, and that which 



results from fear, or newness of objects, or from 

 mere affectation or skittishness. For the first, 

 the nature of which we have explained at page 

 98. every allowance must be made, and care, must 

 be taken that (he fear of correction be not associ- 

 ated with the imagined existence of some terrify- 

 ing object. The severe use of the whip and the 

 annot do good here, and are likely to aggra- 

 vate the vice ten-fold. A word half encouraging 

 and half scolding, with a gentle pressure of the 

 heel, or a slight touch of the spur, will tell the 

 horse that there was nothing to fear, and will 

 Give him confidence in his rider on a future occa- 

 sion. It should be remembered, however, that 

 although a horse that shies from defective sight 

 may be taught considerable reliance on his rider, 

 he can never have the cause of the habit removed. 

 We may artificially strengthen the human sight, 

 but the horse's must be left to itself. 



The shying from skittishness or affectation is 

 quite a different affair, and must be conquered: but 

 how? Severity is out of place even here. If he 

 is forced up to the object by dint of correction, the 

 dread of punishment will afterwards be associated 

 with that object, and on the next occasion, his 

 startings will be more frequent and more dange- 

 rous. The- way to cure him is to go on, turning 

 as little as possible out of the road, giving the an- 

 imal a harsh word or two, and a Gentle touch with 

 the spur, and then taking no more notice of the 

 matter. After a few times, whatever may have 

 been the object which he chose to select as the 

 pretended cause of affright, he will pass it almost 

 without notice. 



In page '225, under the head 'breaking in,' we 

 have described how the colt may be cured of the 

 habit of shying from fear or newness of objects; 

 and if he then be accustomed as much as possible 

 to the objects among which his services will be re- 

 quired, he will not possess this annoying vice when 

 he grows to maturer age. 



Mr. John Lawrence, in his last pleasing work 

 on the horse, says, 'These animals generally fix 

 on some particular shying butt: for example, I re- 

 collect having, at different periods, three hacks, all 

 very powerful; the one made choice of a wind- 

 mill for the object or butt, the other a tilted wagon, 

 and the last a pig led in a string. It so happen-- 

 ed, however, that I rode the two former when 

 amiss from a violent cold, and they then paid no 

 more attention to either windmills or tilted wagons 

 than to any other objects, convincing me that their 

 shying when in health and spirits was pure affec- 

 tation, an affectation however, which may be speed- 

 ily united with obstinacy and vice. Let it be treated 

 with marked displeasure, mingled with gentle, but 

 decided firmness, and the habit will be of short en- 

 durance.*' 



* 'We will suppose a case, a veiy common one, an 

 every day one. A man is riding a young horse upon 

 the high-road in the country, and meets a stage coach. 

 What with the noise, the bustle, the imposing appear- 

 ance altogether, and the slashing of the coachman's 

 whip, the animal at its approach erects his head and 

 crest, pricks his ears, looks affrighted, and no sooner 

 comes alongside of the machine than he suddenly starts 

 out of the road. His rider, annoyed by this, instantly 

 commences a round of castigation with whip, spu#rmd 

 curb, in which he persists until the horse, as well ag 

 himself, has lost his temper; and then one whips, spurs, 



