STALLIONS, BROOD MARES AND FOALS. 141 



his usefulness for any business purpose will be 

 practically destroyed; and in such instances 

 the operation should never be performed un- 

 less there be some imperative reason for it. 



FIGHTING BETWEEN STALLIONS. 



When several stallions are kept on the same 

 farm or in the same stable great care should be 

 taken to prevent them from breaking loose and 

 doing serious injury to one another by fighting; 

 but in spite of all the usual precautions such 

 accidents are liable to occur. I recently read 

 an account of a combat of this nature where 

 various means of separating the horses were 

 tried in vain, when it was resolved to try the 

 lasso. At the first cast one of the stallions was 

 securely caught, but it was only after three un- 

 successful attempts that the other one was se- 

 cured. With a few men at each rope the in- 

 furiated beasts were easily choked down and 

 separated. I have seen several conflicts of this 

 nature, and know by experience something of 

 the difficulty and danger of attempting to sep- 

 arate the combatants; but this is the first in- 

 stance in which I have heard of the use of the 

 lasso, and it occurs to me that it may fre- 

 quently be found to be the very best possible 

 means of accomplishing the difficult and dan- 

 gerous task. The horses must be fearlessly ap- 

 proached, however, to succeed even with the 



