THE HORSE : I TS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 47 



A better plan than using the chain is to have a strong 

 strap, rather narrow, with a wooden plug on the end, 

 weighing at the least from ilb. to i ^Ibs., with about 

 a foot or a foot and a half of chain at the top, which can 

 be fastened to the head stall that the horse wears in the 

 stable. If managed in this way the halter does not make 

 any noise working up and down in the ring. When the 

 chain is used, and makes so much noise, the horse gets 

 accustomed to working it for pastime. It is always best to 

 have a leather head stall to tie the horse up with, so that it 

 can be buckled underneath the throat, if not, old horses 

 will sometimes slip a hemp halter. 



I may mention here that I am referring more to 

 farmers and carmen, who often tie their horses up with 

 a hemp halter. Though there may not be more than from 

 two to seven horses in the stable, if one, unfortunately, 

 manages to slip its halter and get amongst the others, it 

 often brings about unpleasant results, sometimes one 

 of the horses having a kick, or meeting with an accident 

 of some kind, which means a veterinary surgeon's bill. 



I have known many cases where horses have slipped 

 their halters, and got loose in the night when the farmers 

 have used the ordinary hemp halter. It is generally a 

 case of " Penny wise and pound foolish." When a leather 

 head stall is once bought it lasts for years. 



Then again, when a number of horses are kept in one 

 stable, the man who has charge of them should always 

 see that the head stall and chain, or whatever they are 



