SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 175 



flanks to rid himself of the insects. Moreover, besides 

 its office as fly-swisher, the tail also protects the horse 

 from the rain.* In a storm horses turn their backs 

 to the rain, knowing that the drops will drip harmlessly 

 off the tail. 



From an artistic standpoint, docking horses is 

 nothing short of a disfigurement, since all symmetry 

 is thereby destroyed. Aside from its utilitarian pur- 

 pose as "rear steering gear" and "fly-swisher," the 

 tail at one end of the body counterbalances the head 

 and neck at the other. The ridiculous stump of a 

 docked horse resembles nothing so much as a "tea- 

 pot with the spout intact and the handle broken off." 



The horse should generally be shod three or four 

 days before the show. If he is to wear heavy shoes 

 to increase his action, these should be put on as late 

 as possible, otherwise their effect will wear off. They 

 should likewise be removed immediately after the 

 show to save the horse's feet and ease the strain that 

 heavy shoes cause on the tendons. The exact shape 

 or weight of show shoes for any given horse must of 

 course be determined in each individual case, and an 

 expert blacksmith employed. Some blacksmiths make 

 a specialty of shoeing show horses, and can, after ob- 

 serving the animal move, forge a shoe best adapted 

 to him. 



Great care must be taken that the horse is not 

 "pricked" in shoeing, which might cause sufficient 

 lameness on the day of the show to ruin the animal's 

 chances. For this reason, not only should a competent 

 stud-groom always accompany the horse to the shop, 



* The same thing applies to the mane, which was intended by nature 

 to prevent the rain soaking into the roots of the hair and to protect 

 the animal's vertebra from the hot rays of the sun. 



