STABLES. 93 



lessly buckled so tight on the horse's heads, 

 to prevent their being rubbed off in the stable, 

 that the horse's jaws are confined. The author 

 experienced instances on the Continent of the 

 nose-band of the stable collar having been 

 purposely buckled tight at night, to prevent 

 the horse from eating either corn or hay, which 

 were sold in the morning by the servant. 

 This anecdote should operate as a suggestion 

 to those who are desirous of seeing the corn 

 given to their horses, either morning, noon, or 

 night, (particularly on the Continent) to ascer- 

 tain at the same time whether their horses 

 have the power of opening their mouths and 

 masticating their food. 



But if stable-collars have throat-lashes, as 

 all should have, the collars would be secure 

 upon the horses' heads, with the nose-bands 

 amply lose for the motion of the jaws — in fact 

 the nose-bands of stable collars should not 

 have any buckle. 



Another act of carelessness, injurious to 

 horses, is laying down straw at night for their 



