38 SICKNESS AND CASUALTIES. 



noise removed, in a few weeks the whole of the inmates of 

 the stable will be equally bad. To my mind there is no 

 surer test of neglectful supervision than the existence of a 

 crib-biter, or of a sore-back, 



I have mentioned the care necessary in fastening the head- 

 collar ; for if too tight it is unpleasant to the horse, if too 

 slack, he may either get loose or his hind-foot become en- 

 tangled in it. An accident of the kind has been the cause 

 of many an animal's ruin. The collar-rein should pass over 

 the roller or through the rings with freedom, and be long 

 enough to reach the ground to enable the animal to lie at 

 ease. But if too long, or the log to which the rein is 

 attached be not heavy enough to keep it moderately tight, 

 the horse will get his leg over it, and the result, not 

 unfrequently, be lameness for weeks. 



When turned loose to rest in the boxes, the collars should 

 in every case be removed, to prevent this entanglement. In 

 the stalls, the bars should be put up between them, so that, 

 in case any of the occupants get loose, they may be hindered 

 kicking and savaging each other. 



There is another thing to be mentioned. Many a valuable 

 horse has been ruined simply by getting the stirrup-iron in 

 the mouth when the boy has left him for a few minutes. To 

 prevent this, the irons should, the first thing on return to 

 stable, be drawn up as near the top of the saddles as possible, 

 and the stirrup-leathers drawn through them ; an effectual 

 safeguard against such an accident. 



I do not know that roaring can fairly be set down either as 

 sickness or accident ; but it is a complaint that cannot be 

 passed without some notice, and perhaps will more fitly come 

 as a conclusion to this chapter than elsewhere. 



Large horses arc, in my experience, more subject to this 



