66 THE HORSE 



The forelock should be left on as it undoubtedly 

 serves to protect the head and brain of the horse from 

 the excessive heat of the sun in hot weather; and to 

 some extent, also, it protects the eyes from the sun. 

 This is particularly the case with a horse in pasture, 

 the forelock partly covering the eyes, when the head 

 is held down in feeding. The forelock grows rapidly 

 on a horse at pasture. Most horses, moreover, look 

 much better with the forelock than without it. If, as 

 will sometimes be the case, the forelock is a source of 

 Irritation and itching when the horse becomes heated, 

 as In the case of a trotter, it can easily be braided and 

 tied. 



THE TAIL 



A long tail is so useful to the horse in protecting 

 him from flies that it is cruel to deprive him of it. 

 Anyone who has watched a docked-tail horse standing 

 In the street on a muggy day in August can partly 

 Imagine how much he suffers from this cause. Every 

 hair on his back is 'Staring" on account of the irrita- 

 tion of his skin, and his legs, head, neck, and the 

 Ineffective stump of his tail are in constant motion. 



I have watched a carriage horse stamp one of his feet every 

 20 seconds for an hour. That multiplied by 16 hours a day 

 (daylight in midsummer) means that the unfortunate animal 

 has stamped his feet the enormous number of 2,800 times a 

 day. That in itself is enough to tire and wear out any horse. — 

 George Foster Howell. 



But there are other reasons why the long tail is 

 beneficial. For one thing, it serves to protect the 



