XIIl] 



CRIME OF DOCKING HORSES 



171 



horses in England. Most of the rein trouble that 

 we hear of in England is produced and wantonly 

 exaggerated by advocates of docking. 



670. Are we inferior horsemen to the 

 Russians, Americans, or South Americans, who 

 use almost entirely long-tailed horses? The 

 Russians are supposed to be the finest horsemen 

 in the world. 



I guarantee to drive any of these so-called 

 unsafe horses as a leader in tandem or four-in- 

 hand with its tail untouched after a couple of 

 days' practice, provided that the horse in ques- 

 tion will go in this position. I have described 

 fully in Chapter VI., Sec. 270, the method I 

 adopt to make any horse safe as regards reins. 

 I remind the reader that, if he trains his own 

 horses to drive, and sells them as being properly 

 trained without making sure that they have no 

 objection to reins getting under their tails, he 

 will be, firstly, selling horses improperly trained, 

 and, secondly, culpably negligent. 



Besides adopting the method described in 

 Sec. 270, the following appliances, etc., can be 

 used to make horses that grab the reins abso- 

 lutely safe. It is one's duty to resort to such 

 means, neglect of which is inexcusable. A tail 

 left quite long, as in P. 146, is far safer for driv- 

 ing purposes than one that is squared off, as in 

 P. 29^. P. 25b shows a method adopted to make 

 a mare that continually grabbed the reins quite 

 safe. It is the invention of Mr. Horace Barry, 

 of Limpsfield, Surrey, and consists merely of a 

 fly or insect net. Mr. Barry writes : " In my 

 mind there is nothing so graceful as a natural 

 tail. As to its danger, it is comparatively small, 

 in my experience. To make it quite safe with 

 a bad horse I have adopted a safeguard which I 

 saw in India, and which is, I believe, Australian. 

 It consists merely of a net. If a horse is properly 

 broken I do not see why he should mind the 

 reins under the tail any more than the crupper. 

 Mine do not, and every now and then I purposely 

 put the reins under my horse's tail (in the stable 

 yard before starting, and in other places) to get 

 them accustomed to the feeling. I do not find any 

 more difficulty with mares than with horses." 



671. P. 118a shows a simple attachment that 

 is scarcely noticeable (in the photograph it has 

 been painted in white). There is a strap on each 

 side passing to the breeching-supporting strap at 

 one end and to a small strap placed loosely around 

 the tail at the other. This strap must not be tight 

 round the tail. The horse can move its tail as 

 much as it likes, but it cannot grab the reins. 



Another method is that of plaiting a small 

 ring into the hairs of the tail near the splinter 

 bar, and attaching a loose tape from the ring to 

 the bar. In summer, of course, this would pre- 

 vent the horse from using its tail to drive away 

 flies. Great care must be taken not to unharness 

 the horse from the vehicle without first untying 

 the tape. 



Another method is to have two small rings 

 fastened to the harness over the croup, through 

 which the reins pass ; reins are thus kept from 

 slipping down the sides of the quarters. 



A patent device, known as Harsh's hip strap, 

 consists of a small stud that is strapped on to 

 the harness over the croup that prevents the reins 

 from slipping down the side when they are left 

 loose, or when the horse is driven with a loose 

 rein, thus preventing the horse from getting his 

 tail over the reins when he switches around at a 

 fly. An arrangement such as this is useful for 

 some tandem leaders. 



672. If, however, the tail does get over, the 

 horse, if properly trained, as described above, 

 should take little notice of it, and it is generally 

 quite easy to draw the reins out again, or one 

 can lean forward and lift the tail back over the 

 reins. 



I have seldom seen accidents with undocked 

 tails, but I have seen scores with docked tails. 

 In fact, whenever a docked horse gets his tail 

 over the reins, it is almost impossible to free 

 them. It usually kicks violently, probably re- 

 membering the operation performed on its tail. 



P. 119a shows the long-tailed horse used 

 in four-in-hands in British Columbia, which is 

 similar to those used all through the west of 

 North America. These drivers never seem to 

 have any trouble, and if asked such a question 

 they would laugh. 



I have noticed a few cases in Canada where 

 horses had their tails plaited loosely to the ends 

 of the breeching. This was done because they 

 had acquired, through being jerked in the 

 mouth, the habit of trying to grab the reins. 

 This, of course, would not be done in the fly 

 season ; other methods would be adopted. 



673. Some farmers use the weak excuse that 

 a long tail is liable to become caught in the 

 dump cart. (P. 118e.) This is supposed to occur 

 after dumping the load, when the box of the 

 cart is brought back to its normal position. If 

 there is any real danger, then the law should 

 compel an alteration in the construction of these 

 carts ; but as they are used without any trouble 

 in many countries and in many parts of England, 

 I think that, generally speaking, the excuse is 

 employed by advocates of docking. At any rate, 

 a net or screen could be placed on the front of 

 the cart, just behind the horse, which would 

 make it absolutely safe. 



674. The London Coaching Club has not dis- 

 played its knowledge of horsemanship in some of 

 its excuses concerning their "leaders." If they 

 cannot manage with long-tailed horses, how is 

 it that coach-drivers can in the West? Are 

 drivers in London inferior? 



675. Smartness. — As regards this excuse, it 

 is only a matter of opinion : " Beauty is in the 

 eye of the beholder." One thing should be 

 remembered by all supporters of docking, 



