86 The Practical Stud Groom. 



A very annoying and harmful habit, often acquired 

 where a number of foals run together, is that of eating the 

 hairs off each other's tails. The formation of hair balls in 

 the stomach is liable to result from this unnatural diet, 

 while the disfigurement inflicted on the caudal appendages 

 is very vexing. Whether the habit is caused through a 

 morbid condition of the stomach, or is only an idle pastime, 

 1 am not prepared to say; but once acquired there seems 

 such a fascination or attraction about the dangerous habit, 

 that it is very difficult to find a preventive dressing 

 sufficiently offensive, and at the same time safe in applica- 

 tion, to warn off a confirmed " tail-chewer." The best 

 results the author has obtained, when solutions of Jeyes, 

 aloes, paraffin, etc., proved ineffective, have been gained by 

 saturating the foals' tails with dirty lubricating oil, i.e., 

 oil that has been through an engine's cylinder, etc. 



TUITION OF THE FOAL. 



The education of the foals, in regard to being led and 

 having their feet handled, will have been completed long 

 before they are weaned ; the next step in their tuition will 

 be to accustom them to stand quietly when fastened to the 

 rack chains while they are being brushed over. The best 

 plan is to get them used to the brush first, for the obvious 

 reason that a nervous foal, swerving or running back from 

 the brush, might get a fright at the sudden check of the 

 chain, and in his unreasoning panic might throw himself, 

 and, if the halter and chain stood the strain staunchly, 

 might easily be strangled or at least seriously injured before 

 he could be released. Horses have very retentive memories, 

 and a contretemps of this kind would probably entail weeks, 

 and perhaps months, of patient and skilful handling of the 

 pupil to restore his confidence, and remove all danger of 

 his becoming addicted to the almost incurable vice of halter 



