VI] 



DRIVING AND HARNESS 



71 



the horse's collar, the crest of the collar rubs the 

 neck and causes a sore ; eventually a hard collar 

 growth is formed. The best method to prevent 

 this is to use a pure zinc arch that fits inside 

 the neck of the collar and bears on to the crest 

 of the horse's neck. Zinc acts as a stimulant to 

 the part that it touches. The horse's mane 

 should be left fairly long at this part to act as 

 a cushion, so that the collar will not rub. 

 Hogged manes are far more liable to cause sores. 

 The collar must also be pressed hard against the 

 shoulder on each side to ascertain that the stuff- 

 ing is sufficient to keep the afterwale from 

 touching the horse. If the stuffing is flattened, 

 the afterwale may touch the shoulder and cause 

 injury. The larger the body of the collar the 

 better, as it will allow the weight to be distri- 

 buted over a larger area. 



275. New collars are a great source of sore 

 shoulders, and require to be very carefully 

 examined. They must be thoroughly fitted 

 before the horse is made to work in them. It 

 is better to give a horse easy work the first time 

 he wears a new collar. The army regulations 

 recommend wetting the collar by soaking for 

 several hours in water, and working the horse 

 for an hour in the collar, taking the collar off 

 carefully, and allowing it to dry. All the 

 draught-horse collars and most of the light-horse 

 collars on the American continent are not closed 

 at the top permanently, but are kept closed by 

 a housing strap. This is a great advantage in 

 putting the collar on, but they are very liable, 

 unless properly buckled up, to cause some of the 

 hairs to become entangled, and they are more 

 liable to get out of shape. This type must be 

 kept buckled up when not in use. 



Hames should really be fitted to every collar 

 after the collar has adapted itself to the shape 

 of the horse. The use of stock hames is absurd, 

 because, if too straight, they will cause the 

 centre of the collar to pinch the horse, and, if 

 too much curved, they will cause the throat or 

 neck to pinch. Metal hames can easily be bent 

 to fit, and wooden ones either steamed and bent 

 or else cut. 



The traces should be fastened to the hames 

 a little more than two-thirds down the collar. 

 Every horse must have its own collar ; the 

 borrowing of collars must be strictly forbidden. 

 They should all be marked with the horse's 

 name or number, otherwise they will get mixed 

 up. When a horse becomes thin, the collar must 

 be re-stuffed. The use of small collar-pads is a 

 bad system, as they must cause uneven pressure. 

 If pads are used at all, they must be large 

 enough to cover the whole collar inside. 



276. As mentioned before, collar injuries are 

 the result of friction, except those caused on the 

 crest by too much weight bearing on the collar. 

 If this pressure injury is a gall, it is most pain- 

 ful. Much downhill work, and consequent 



holding back with the crest of the neck, will 

 cause this trouble, unless some such arrange- 

 ment as the zinc arch (known as a wither pad) 

 is used. A hogging mane under this part of the 

 collar is the worst thing possible, as the collar 

 will drive the stiff short bristles into the crest 

 (the ligamentum nuchae, composed of yellow, 

 elastic tissue, which is very susceptible to 

 injury). By stuffing the collar so that there is 

 only a little stuffing on each side of the crest and 

 over the top of it, this trouble may be overcome. 

 (See P. 31, Fig. 3.) Hence the importance of 

 having poles supported by springs, and the 

 chains of fixed poles, as in P. 36g, loose enough 

 so as not to pull down on to the collar when 

 the horse is in motion. 



Tight collars usually cause a friction injury 

 high up on the shoulder, and loose collars an 

 injury low down. The stuffing of the collars 

 must in these cases be altered by a saddler to 

 remedy the trouble. If it is very important to 

 work a horse with a collar sore, a felt pad must 

 be placed inside the collar on the side on which 

 the sore is, the whole length of the collar, and a 

 hole cut in the felt around the sore large enough 

 to prevent the sore being touched however much 

 the collar may move while the horse is in motion ; 

 the edges of the hole must be tapered off. 



277. A new form of collar, that extends over 

 the anterior border of the shoulder-blade only, 

 has been invented by the Whipple Horse Collar 

 Company, of Hamilton, Canada. This is claimed 

 to be an improvement on the old-style collar. 

 Theoretically it seems to be a good idea, and I 

 have seen some practical experiments carried out 

 successfully. These experiments were made on 

 level roads. I do not know whether it would be 

 successful for ploughing purposes. 



278. Sore Shoulders. For the method of pre- 

 vention of sore shoulders and of giving imme- 

 diate relief, see Sees. 320 to 323. 



The best cure for sore withers, caused by the 

 collar, is the use of the zinc plate, referred to 

 above. If the withers are very bad, the horse 

 should be worked in a breast strap for two 

 weeks, care being taken that the supporting 

 strap that passes over the neck is kept well away 

 from the sore. The shoulders should be very 

 carefully examined every time the collar is re- 

 moved. Merely looking at them is not sufficient ; 

 they must be felt with the fingers. 



For the antiseptic treatment of wounds, see 

 Chapter XVII. 



If, while working, a slight lump is noticed, 

 the horse must at once be given a rest for an 

 hour, and the following hardening lotion applied 

 immediately (i.e. previous to the rest) : 



Common alum (powdered) ... 2 oz. 



Tannic acid 1$ oz. 



Carbolic acid 1 dr. 



Water 1 pt. 



