CARE NE CESSAR Y JN SINGEING 1 35 



when the horse is looking sideways or backwards, 

 experience has proved that a mischievous horse is but 

 waiting for the opportunity to ' let fly,' and the frequent 

 backward motion of the eye is but for the purpose of 

 securing the fullest effect to the kick which he medi- 

 tates deliverinof. 



The greatest care is necessary, when singeing a 

 horse, to prevent the eyelashes being burned, and the 

 hand should be kept placed on the eye, in order to 

 avoid the possibility of its receiving injury from the 

 flame of the singeing-lamp. Far too often grooms are 

 very careless in this respect, and far too often they 

 will, in their endeavour to make v/hat they consider a 

 * neat job ' of it, singe the eyelashes and feelers pur- 

 posely. The deprivation of the natural shade and 

 protection to the eye of a horse causes untold torture 

 to the wretched animal. For, apart from the dis- 

 comfort which must be caused it by the glare of the 

 rays of the sun, the annoyance from flies, etc., is very 

 greatly increased. A horse can blow out the flies from 

 his nostrils, but without the lashes and feelers he is at 

 their mercy, and well-nigh maddened at times. 



Although cataract is curable in the human subject, 

 there is absolutely no cure for it in the horse. Firstly, 

 because, if not quite impossible, it is at all events very 

 difficult to operate at all on the eye of a horse, by 

 reason of the strength of the muscle of the ' haw ' (to 

 which I have made reference above) ; and secondly, 

 because it is impossible to guard the eye, as would be 

 necessary subsequent to the performance of the opera- 

 tion (if so delicate an operation could be performed 

 successfully), as in the case of a human being. Conse- 

 quently it may be asserted that the disease is incurable. 



