OVERREACH. 341 



nately a little opened and then closed, and a noise is heard as if he were 

 suckino-. If we may judge from the same comparative ^want of condi- 

 tion, and the flatulence which we have described under the last head, either 

 some portion of wind enters the stomach, or there is an injurious loss of 

 saliva. This diminishes the value of the horse almost as much as crib- 

 biting ; it is as contagious, and it is as inveterate. The only remedies, and 

 they will seldom avail, are tying the head up, except when the horse is 

 feeding, or putting on a muzzle, with sharp spikes towards the neck, and 

 which shall prick him whenever he attempts to rein his head in for the 

 purpose of wind-sucking. 



CUTTING. 



Of this habit we have'already spoken at page 252, and we would advise the 

 owner of a cutting horse, without trying any previous experiments of raising 

 or lowering the heels, to put on the cutting foot a shoe of even thickness 

 from heel to toe, not projecting in the slightest degree beyond the crust, and 

 the crust itself being rasped a little at the quarters ; and to let that shoe 

 be fastened as usual on the outside, but with only one nail on the inside, 

 and that almost close to the toe. The principle on which this shoe acts 

 has been explained at page 243. 



NOT LYING DOWN. 



It not uncommonly happens that a horse will seldom or never lie down in 

 the stable. He sometimes continues in apparent good health, and feeds 

 and works well; but generally his legs swell, or he becomes fatigued 

 sooner than another horse. If it is impossible to let him loose in the stable, 

 or to put him into a spare box, we know not what is to be done. No 

 means, gentle or cruel, will force him to lie down. The secret is that he 

 is tied up, and either has never dared to lie down through fear of the con- 

 finement of the halter, or he has been cast in the night, and severely 

 injured. If he can be suffered to range the stable, or have a comfortable 

 box, in which he may be loose, he will usually lie down the first night. 

 Some few horses, however, will lie down in the stable, and not in a 

 loose box. A fresh, well-made bed will generally tempt the tired horse 

 to lie down. 



OVERREACH. 



This unpleasant noise, known also by the terms ' clicking,' * overreach,' &c. 

 arises from the toe of the hind foot knocking against the shoe of the fore 

 foot. In the trot, one fore leg and the opposite hind leg are first lifted 

 from the ground and moved forward, the other fore leg and the opposite 

 hind leg remaining fixed ; but, to keep the centre of gravity within the base, 

 and as the stride, or space passed over by these legs, is often greater 

 than the distance between the fore and hind feet, it is necessary that the 

 fore feet should be alternately moved out of the way for the hind feet to 

 descend. Then, as occasionally happens with horses not perfectly broken, 

 and that have not been taught their paces, and especially if they have high 

 hinder quarters and low fore ones, if the fore feet are not raised in time, the 

 hind feet will strike them. The fore foot will generally be caught when it has 

 just begun to be raised, and the toe of the hind foot will meet the middle 

 of the bottom of the forefoot. It is a very disagreeable noise, and not alto- 

 gether free from danger ; for it may so happen that a iiorse, the action of 



