BALLS AND DREXCffES. 203 



back of his hand as near the roof of the horse's mouth 

 as possible, and the ball should be held between the 

 thumb and three fingers The moment the right hand 

 is withdrawn from the mouth, the left hand should quit 

 the tongue, and the horse will generally swallow the 

 ball, which the operator will be assured of by watching 

 the outside of the gullet. 



It is a common, but a very reprehensible practice, to 

 buy and keep balls long before they are used, as they 

 often become so dry and hard as to be insoluble in the 

 stomach, and pass through the intestines unchanged. 

 But the most serious inconvenience which arises from 

 giving balls that have been kept until they become hard, 

 is that they are liable to stick in the gullet, and thereby 

 endanger the horse's life. In holding the tongue with 

 the left hand while the ball is given, great care is re- 

 qu'red with horses that are restive, as the rough and 

 violent manner in which this is sometimes done, injures 

 the tongue on the under part of it. After giving a ball 

 some persons will pinch or press the windpipe, as they 

 say, " For the purpose of making him swallow it ;" but 

 this is a bad practice, as it is apt to cause the horse to 

 cough, by which swallowing is prevented. The only 

 thing necessary, after the hand is withdrawn, is to keep 

 the mouth shut, and press the nose downwards, in a 

 moderate degree, towards the chest. 



With some horses it is necessary to use a balling- 

 iron, an instrument formed to keep the mouth open 

 while the ball is introduced ; it also answers the pur- 



