5IO The Book of the Horse. 



does not He well on the side desired, it must first be bathed in very hot water applied with a brush, 

 and then plaited with lead. If that does not answer, a canvas hood, plaited with sheets of lead, 

 must be put on the head and neck, after the mane has been thoroughly wetted, and the wetting 

 repeated from time to time, while the horse is either on the rack-chain or the pillar reins. This 

 neck hood must be removed at night. The mane should never on any account be touched 

 with scissers, and after it has been once reduced to a proper thicknes, neither it nor the tail 

 should ever be combed, but frequently brushed with a damp brush kept expressly for the purpose. 

 As a rule, the manes and tails of blood horses are rather inclined to be too thin than too thick. It 

 is astonishing what improvement may be produced in these natural ornaments by constant 

 attention. There are some good brushes with wire instead of bristle. 



Docking. — Formerly horses were universally docked, sometimes very short, under the idea that 

 it improved the appearance of their quarters. Of late the fashion of docking the tails and hogging 

 manes has been revived by polo players. Even hunters have been thus disfigured ; but, like crinolines 

 and chignons, it is a beastly fashion that cannot last for ever. In this year (1878) a number of 

 mares, which it was the fancy of an Essex baronet to collect for sale, were positively disfigured — I 

 should say indecently — by the shortness of their docks. It is, however, often advisable to shorten 

 the dock of horses used in single harness, or in pair-horse carriages where the splashboard is low. 

 A long bang or switch tail splashes the dirt in the driver's face, is very apt to flap over one of the 

 reins, and to set the animal kicking. 



It is a popular opinion that a horse whose tail is not naturally well set on may be made 

 to carry it better if early in colthood it is relieved from the weight of hair by shortening the 

 dock. The Irish have a particular taste for such operations as docking and firing. You 

 constantly meet with Irish mares, which should always have a full tail, spoiled by being too 

 closely docked. As docking is a veterinary operation, it is not necessary to describe it. It is as 

 well, however, to observe, that it is very easy to take two or three joints off a horse's tail, but 

 impossible to put them on again. As harness horses and chargers wear cruppers, it is possible 

 to supply them with false tails if a bald or rat tail destroys the otherwise grand appearance 

 of a fine horse ; but such an addition will be ridiculous if not manufactured and fitted by a 

 real artist. 



Horses fresh from grass, or standing idle in the stable, are apt to rub their tails, and if not 

 attended to will soon seriously injure and even permanently destroy the hair. 



The first step is to carefully wash the tail, and discover the cause of irritation. It may be 

 caused by a skin affection of the dock or of the rump, or by the presence of worms in the rectum. 

 In the latter and more common case, advice will be found in the chapter on " Veterinary 

 Information.^' 



Very little benefit is gained by the administration of the ordinary medicine for worms 

 when the Oxyuris is present. A dose of physic may cause the expulsion of a few worms, but 

 no marked relief from the annoyance which they cause is gained by this treatment. 



If the irritation is in the dock alone, and application of water does not allay it, apply 

 a lotion to the tail composed of chloride of lime, two and a half drachms in half a pint of 

 water, and between the applications glycerine and oil with a feather. A wet woollen bandage 

 may be rolled on at night. 



There is one thing that will spoil a horse's temper without curing the habit of rubbing his 

 tail, and that is beating him, as many stupid grooms do, even lying in wait for the purpose. 

 Horses travelling long distances by sea or rail should have their tails carefully swathed 

 in bandages, and sewn in leather cases. 



