132 HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP 



and autumn. It is, therefore, not my purpose to 

 labour this point. No one except a madman 

 would mutilate his animals without an object, 

 and, consequently, it is this aspect of the question 

 I wish to discuss with my readers for a few minutes. 

 One reason is that it is supposed to set off a horse's 

 quarters, and make him look " smarter." This is 

 nothing more nor less than a question of custom. 

 How very odd the most charmingly dressed lady 

 of to-day would look were our eyes attuned to 

 the fashion of the crinoline. And were we to 

 take our docked horses, which we think so 

 smart, to Russia, where the practice of docking 

 is non-existent, they would excite nothing but 

 ridicule. As we ridicule the crinoline as an 

 absurdity of our grandparents, so we should to- 

 day not ridicule but rage at the horse-o\vner who 

 mutilates his horses for his own gain or personal 

 satisfaction. 



Another reason given is that it prevents a horse 

 switching his tail over the reins, when being driven. 

 But, as a matter of fact, a horse with a short, 

 stumpy tail is far more likely to get the reins under 

 them and retain them there than if he has a long, 

 flowing tail. But unless the reins are raised by a 

 rein-bracket this will sometimes occur in any case. 

 The simple and obvious remedy is to provide your 

 trap with these, if it doesn't already possess them. 

 To put this solution in its most material foim, it 

 is cheaper to do this than pay a veterinary surgeon 

 fees for docking. 



For polo ponies it is sometimes urged that a 



