NICKING. 351 



raendable custom on the score of humanity. No colt was ever lost by it; and neither 

 the growth of the hair, nor the beauty of the tail, is in the least impaired. 



NICKING. 



This barbarous operation was once sanctioned by fashion, and the breeder and the 

 dealer even now are sometimes tempted to intlict the torture of it in order to obtain a 

 ready sale ior their colts. It is not, however, practised to the extent that it used to 

 be, nor attended by so many circumstances of cruelty. 



We must here introduce a small portion of the anatomy of the horse, which we 

 had reserved for this place. The eighteen dorsal vertebrae or bones of the back (see 

 d, p. 167), and the five lumbar vertebra or bones of the loins (/, p. 167), have already 

 been described. The continuation of the spine consists of the sacrum, composed of 

 five bones (k, p. 167), which, although separate in the colt, are in the full-grown 

 horse united into one mass. The bones of the ilium, the upper and side portion of 

 the haunch, articulate strongly with the sacrum, forming a bony union rather than a 

 joint. The spinal marrow and the blood-vessels here generally begin to diminish, 

 and numerous branches of nerves are given out, which, joined by some from the ver- 

 tebrae of the loins, form the nervous apparatus of the hind-legs. 



The bones of the tail (?, p. 167) are a continuation of those of the sacrum. They 

 are fifteen in number, gradually diminishing in size, and losing altogether the charac- 

 ter of the spinal vertebrse. Prolongations of the spinal marrow run through the whole 

 of them, and likewise some arterial vessels, which are a continuation of those which 

 supply the sacrum. Much attention is paid by persons who are acquainted with the 

 true form of the horse to this continuation of the sacral and tail-bones. From the 

 loins to the setting on of the tail the line should be nearly straight, or inclining only 

 a slight degree downward. There is not a surer test of the breed of the horse than 

 this straight line from the loins to the tail ; nor, as was shown when the muscles of 

 the quarters were described, is there any circumstance so much connected with the 

 mechanical advantage with which these muscles act. 



The tail seems to be designed to perfect the beauty of the horse's form. There are 

 three sets of muscles belonging to the tail — the erector coccygis, situated on the supe- 

 rior and lateral part of it, and by the action of which (d, p. 282) the tail may be both 

 elevated and drawn on one side — the depressor coccygis, on the inferior and lateral part 

 of it, by the action of which the tail may be both lowered and drawn on one side — 

 and the curvator coccygis, by the action of which the tail may be curved or flexed on 

 either side. The depressor and lateral muscles are more powerful than the erector 

 ones, and when the horse is undisturbed, the tail is bent down close on the buttocks ; 

 but when he is excited, and particularly when he is at speed, the erector muscles are 

 called into action, the tail is elevated, and there is an appearance of energy and spirit 

 which adds materially to his beauty. To perpetuate this, the operation of nicking 

 was contrived. The depressor muscles and part of the lateral ones are cut through, 

 and the erector muscles, left without any antagonists, keep the tail in a position more 

 or less erect, according to the whim of the operator or the depth to which the incisions 

 have been carried. 



The operation is thus performed. The side-line is put on the horse, or some per- 

 sons deem it more prudent to cast him, and that precaution we should be disposed to 

 recommend. The hair at the end of the tail is securely tied together, for the purpose 

 of afterwards attaching a w^eight to it. Tike operator then grasps the tail in his hand, 

 and, lifting it up, feels for the centre of one of the bones — the prominences at the 

 extremities will guide him — from two to four inches from the root of the tail, accord- 

 ing to the size of the horse. He then, with a sharp knife, divides the muscles deeply 

 from the edge of the tail on one side to the centre, and, continuing the incision across 

 the bone of the tail, he makes it as deep on the other side. One continued incision, 

 steadily yet rapidly made, will accomplish all this. If it is a blood-horse that is 

 operated on, this will be sufficient. For a hunter, two incisions are usually made, the 

 second being about two inches below the first, and likewise as nearly as possible in 

 the centre of one of the bones. 



On a hackne}^ or cocktail, a third incision is made ; for fashion has decided that his 



