172 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[chap. 



whether they think docked horses look smart or 

 not, and that is that humanity and justice stand 

 ahead of mere looks. A glance through the 

 photographs in this book will convince one that 

 there is not all that difference as regards smart- 

 ness. Personally, I think smartness lies on the 

 other side. Nature's own design, in 99 per cent. 

 of cases, cannot be imitated or improved upon. 



The average person does not admire a docked 

 horse. Many people who do admire them think 

 that docking means trimming the hair. 



676. When Nature designed the horse she 

 gave to various breeds tails of different lengths. 

 For instance, the cobby type (P. 29^-) has a 

 shorter dock, whilst the longer-legged, lighter- 

 built horse has a longer one. A carefully-bred 

 horse of any breed has nearly always a com- 

 paratively short dock ; it is the coarse-bred 

 horse that has the very long dock. Hence it is 

 all the more absurd to dock well-bred hackneys, 

 Clydes, shires, etc. People should realise how 

 ridiculous they are apt to look perched upon 

 or sitting behind a horse with a hat-peg tail. 

 (P. 113.) 



" Oh wad some Power the giftie gie us 

 To see oursels as others see us 1 " 



677. Neatness. — The excuse that docked 

 horses are neater is again a matter of opinion, 

 and in no way justifies the existence of the 

 practice. As a matter of fact, there is no doubt 

 that a well-kept tail is neater than the average 

 docked tail we see. The only way to make a 

 docked tail look really neat is to trim it con- 

 tinually, but this will deprive the horse of all 

 fly defence, whilst the natural tail looks neat 

 whether left long or banged to various lengths. 



It is quite clear that the practice of docking 

 exists in order to satisfy a certain fashion or 

 whim. This whim is encouraged by un- 

 principled people, who are found even amongst 

 horse dealers and horse-show followers. 



I think the clearest point that proves that 

 docking is a mere fashion is that hackneys and 

 show heavy draught horses, and in some 

 countries cobs, are the three types commonly 

 docked. Hunters, saddle horses, carriage horses 

 and the ordinary grade farm horses are not. 

 We find harness horses in both groups ; there- 

 fore the rein excuse can be eliminated. In 

 reality the hackney is generally driven in an 

 American buggy, a vehicle which is used with 

 most long-tailed horses in the United States. 

 Then, again, most of the heavy draught horses 

 are never driven at all, but are used for breed- 

 ing purposes, so how can the rein excuse, or any 

 other excuse, be used? I ask a horse-loving 

 nation why it allows these horses to be docked? 



Realising, therefore, that docking is merely 

 the result of a fashion, we will consider the 

 chief culprits. 



678. There are three classes who encourage it : 



1. Ladies and gentlemen who own private 

 turn-outs. These people mostly know little or 

 nothing of the practice. They mean well. I 

 do not attach much blame to these people 

 because they drive behind docked horses, but I 

 certainly blame the dealer that sold these horses. 



2. Poor people, who will do anything to 

 make a little money. Such people we see stand- 

 ing around sale stables. I do not blame them 

 so much. They perform cruel operations, not 

 with the idea of disfiguring a horse, but in order 

 to make a living. 



3. The horse-show man or woman, or horse 

 dealer. To this type of person, who encour- 

 ages docking for no tangible reason, I attach 

 nearly all the blame. They know exactly what 

 the practice means, and, further, they do every- 

 thing in their power to encourage it, whilst it is 

 in their power to prevent it. They know it is 

 illegal, because they try to hide it. 



679. The horse show could be the means of 

 inculcating kind treatment to horses instead of 

 encouraging mutilation and other forms of 

 cruelty as it does to-day. Gross cruelty is prac- 

 tised by ignorant horse-breakers in preparing 

 horses for jumping, etc. The Hunters Improve- 

 ment Society has done enormous good by taking 

 the stand it did a few years ago, when it re- 

 quested that all horses shown in their shows 

 should be undocked. This spread all over the 

 world. Prince Christian was president of this 

 society at the time, and it was in great measure 

 due to His Royal Highness that the motion was 

 introduced. 



People who encourage this practice have been 

 criticised freely, but not a whit too severely. 

 The Toronto Evening Telegram said : " Docking 

 is mainly due to thoughtless people." 



The Toronto Daili/ Star said : " Docking is 

 largely due to horse show followers with no 

 knowledge of, or respect for, a horse." 



These are the opinions of two leading news- 

 papers out of at least a score that I have read on 

 this one point. The breeder would cease to dock 

 his horses if he knew that the purchaser would 

 not buy them ; therefore, by refusing to buy 

 them we help the cause of humanity. 



680. These adherents of docking will do 

 almost anything to gain their end. I have known 

 of instances where men have damaged purposely 

 the tail of a horse in order to have it docked. In 

 truth there is not one in many thousand that gets 

 its tail damaged accidentally, necessitating am- 

 putation. Some people like their horses to look 

 different from the commercial horses on the 

 street, but surely the difference need not be 

 made by mutilation. A private turn-out is dis- 

 tinguished by its appointments, by its harness, 

 livery, carriage, etc., being well cared for. 



Some people drive quite commonplace horses, 

 but because their tails are docked, imagine their 

 turn-outs are fine ones. Not only do they expose 



