SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDIXG. CRIB-BITING. 511 



or fatal accident will take place. If, tlierefore, mild treatment -vvlll not 

 correct this vice, the horse cannot be too soon got rid of. Horses that 

 have been vicious for a lifetime are frequently rendered quiet to shoe 

 on being thrown down, and thoroughly handled, when in the horizontal 

 position, the smith can shoe the horse "vvith the greatest ease. 



SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDING. 



Some greedy horses habitually swallow their corn without properly 

 grinding it, and the power of digestion not being adequate to the dissolv- 

 ing of the husk, no nutriment is extracted, and the oats ai^e voided whole. 

 This is particularly the case when horses of unequal appetite feed from 

 the same manger. The gi^eedy one, in his eagerness to get more than his 

 share, bolts a portion of his corn whole. If the farmer, >vithout consider- 

 able inconvenience, could contrive that every horse shall have his separate 

 division of the manger, the one of smaller appetite and slower feed would 

 have the opportunity of grinding at his leisure, Avithout the fear of the 

 greater share being stolen by his neighbour. 



Some horses, however, are naturally greedy feeders, and will not, even 

 when alone, allow themselves time to chew or grind their com. In con- 

 sequence of this they carry but little flesh, and are not equal to severe 

 work. If the rack was supplied with hay when the corn was put into the 

 manger, they vrill continue to eat on, and their stomachs Avill become dis- 

 tended Avith half-chewed and indigestible food. In consequence of this 

 they Avill be incapable of considerable exertion for a long time after feed- 

 ing, and, occasionally, dangerous symptoms of staggers will occiir. 



The remedy is, not to let such horses fast too long. The nose-bag should 

 be the companion of CA'ery considerable journey. The food should likeAvise 

 be of such a nature that it cannot be rapidly bolted. Chaff should be 

 plentifully mixed Avitli the corn, and, in some cases, and especially in 

 horses of slow Avork, it should, with the com, constitute the whole of 

 the food. This has been treated on more at large under the article 

 ' Feeding.' 



In eA^ery case of this kind the teeth should be carefully examined. 

 Some of them may be unduly lengthened, particularly the first of the 

 grinders : or they may be ragged at the edges, and may abrade and wound 

 the cheek. In the first case the horse cannot properly masticate his food, 

 in the latter he will not; for these animals, as too often happens in sore 

 throat, would rather starve than put themselves to much pain. 



CRIB-BITING. 



This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable defect, although not 

 so serious a one as some haA^e represented. The horse lays hold of the 

 manger Avith his teeth, Aaolently extends his neck, and then, after some 

 convnlsiA^e action of the throat, a slight grunting is heard, accompanied 

 by a sucking or draAving in of air. It is not an effort at simple eructation, 

 arising from indigestion. It is the inhalation of air. It is that Avhich 

 takes place with all kinds of diet, and when the stomach is empty as well 

 as when it is full. 



The eflTccts of crib-biting are plain enough. The teeth are injured and 

 Avom aAvay, and that, in an old horse, to a very serious degree. A con- 

 siderable quantity of corn is often lost, for the horse will frequently crib 

 Avith his mouth full of it, and the greater part aa^II fall OA^er the edge of 

 the manger. Much saliva escapes Avhile the manger is thus forcibly held, 

 the loss of Avhich must be of serious detriment in impairing the digestion. 

 The crib-biting horse is notoriously more .subject to colic than other 

 horses, and to a species difficult of treatment and frequently dangerous. 



