J 36 STA.BLE ECONOMY. 



THIRD CHAPTER. 



STABLE RESTRAINTS. II. ACCIDENTS. III. HABITS.— 



IV. VICES. 



RESTRAINTS. 



By these I mean all those abridgments of the horse's liber- 

 ty in the stable which prevent him from injuring himself or 

 others. The twitch, the arm-strap, and the muzzle, are spoken 

 of in connexion with the dressing of vicious horses. The 

 partition between the horses is an abridgment of their free- 

 dom ; its use and abuse are considered under the construction 

 of stables. There are, however, some other restraints, of 

 which tying up is the principal. Those connected with vice, 

 or peculiar habits, are described in their proper places. 



Tying-up. — In the stable, horses are tied up by collars, 

 neck-straps, or halters. They are attached to the manger, or 

 to a ring driven in one corner, or in front, of the stall-head. 

 The horse's head must have some play, the rein must be long 

 enough to let him reach the hay-rack, and to let him lie down, 

 yet so sliort that he can not turn in the stall, and attached to 

 the stall in such a way that it can not get entangled among 

 the feet. 



The Halter is made of rope. Sometimes the head-piece 

 and nose-band are of web, which is better than rope : the nose- 

 band is a running noose. The halter is seldom used for tying- 

 up a horse ; by good stablemen never, without casting a knot 

 upon the nose-piece, to prevent it from running ; but among 

 inferior or ignorant grooms the halter is in common use ; want- 

 ing a throat-lash, it is very easily cast. The horse can throw 

 it off whenever he chooses. It often injures the mouth and 

 the muzzle. The nose-band being a running noose, the least 

 strain upon the rein draws the noose so tightly that it forces 

 the cheeks between the back teeth, where they are cut, and. 



