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HORSE DOCTOR. 



be plentifully mixed with the corn, and, in some cases 

 and especially in horses of slow work, it should with the 

 corn, constitute the whole of the food; and then there 

 will not be much dano^er. 



' In every case of this kind the teeth should be care- 

 fully examined. Some of them may be unduly length- 

 ened, particularly the first of the grinders: or they may 

 be ragged at the edges, and may abrade and wound the 

 cheek, [n the first place the horse cannot properly mas- 

 ticate his food ; in the latter he will not; for these ani- 

 mals, as too often happens in sore throat, wo^ rather 

 starve than put- themselves to much pain. W 



CRIB BITING. 



This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable 

 defect, although not so serious a one as some have re- 

 pre.ented. The horse lays hold of the manger WMth his 

 teeth, violently extends his neck, and then, after some 

 convulsive action of the throat, a slight grunting is heard, 

 accompanied by a sucking or drawing in of air. It is 

 not an efl!brt at simple belching, arising from indiges- 

 tion. It isvthe inhalation of air. It is that which takes 

 place with all kinds of diet, and when the stomach is 

 empty as well as when it is full. 



The effects of crib-biiing are plain enough. The 

 teeth are injured and worn away, and that, in an old 

 horse, to a very serious degree. A considerable qijan- 

 tity of corn is often lost, for the horse w ill frequently 

 erib with his niouth full of if, and the greater pari will 

 fall over the edge of the manger. Much saliva escapes 

 while the manger is thus forcibly held, the loss of which 

 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 dillicult of treatment 

 and frequently dangerous. Although many a crib-biter 

 is stout and strong, and capable of all ordinarv work, 

 these horses do* not generally carry so much flesh as 

 otheis, and have not their endurance. On these ac- 

 counts crib-biting has very properly been decided to be 



