451 



WIND-SUCKING. 

 This bears a close analogy to cribrbiting. It arises from the same causes ; 

 the same purpose is accomplished ; and the same results follow. The horse 

 stands with his neck bent ; his head drawn inward j his lips alternately a little 

 opened and then closed, and a noise is heard as if he were sucking. If we may 

 judge from the same comparative want of condition and the flatulence which 

 we have described under the last head, either some portion of wind enters the 

 stomach, or there is an injurious loss of saliva. This diminishes the value of the 

 horse almost as much as crib-biting ; it is as contagious, and it is as inveterate, 

 whe only remedies, and they will seldom avail, are tying the head up, except 

 Then the horse is feeding, or putting on a muzzle with sharp spikes towards the 

 neck, and which will prick him whenever he attemps to rein his, head in for the 

 purpose of wind-sucking. 



CUTTING. 

 Of this habit mention has been made at page 349; and we would advise the 

 owner of a cutting horse, without trying any previous experiments of raising or 

 lowering the heels, to put on the cutting foot a shoe of even thickness from heel 

 to toe, not projecting in the slightest degree beyond the crust, and the crust 

 itself being rasped a little at the quarters. The shoe should be fastened as 

 usual on the outside, but with only one nail on the inside, and that almost close 

 to the toe. The principle on which this shoe acts has been explained at page 424. 



NOT LYING DOWN. 

 It not uncommonly happens that a horse will seldom or never lie dowt in the 

 stable. He sometimes continues in apparent good health, and feeds and works 

 well ; but generally his legs swell, or he becomes fatigued sooner than another 

 horse. If it is impossible to let him loose in the stable, or to put him into a 

 spare box, we know not what is to be done. No means, gentle or cruej, will 

 force him to lie down. The secret is that he is tied up, and either has never 

 dared to lie down through fear of the confinement of the halter, or he has been 

 cast in the night, and severely injured. If he can be suffered to range the stable, 

 or have a comfortable box, in which he may be loose, he will usually lie down 

 the first night. Some few horses, however, will lie down in the stable, and not 

 in a loose box. A fresh, well-made bed will generally tempt the tired horse to 

 refresh himself with sleep. 



OVERREACH. 

 This unpleasant noise, known also by the term ' clicking,' arises from the toe 

 of the hind foot knocking against the shoe of the fore foot. In the trot, one fore 

 leg and the opposite hind leg are first lifted from the ground and moved forward, 

 the other fore leg and the opposite hind leg remaining fixed ; but, to keep the 

 centre of gravity within the base, and as the stride, or space passed over by these 

 legs, is often greater than the distance between the fore and hind feet, it is neces- 

 sary that the fore feet should be alternately moved out of the way for the. hind 

 ones to descend. Then, as occasionally happens with horses not perfectly 

 broken, and that have not been taught their paces, and especially if they have 

 high hinder quarters and low fore ones, if the fore feet are not raised in time 

 the hind feet will strike them. The fore foot will generally be caught when it 

 has just begun to be raised, and the toe of the hind foot will meet the middle of 

 the bottom of the fore foot. It is an unpleasant noise, and not altogether free 

 from danger; for it may so happen that a horse, the action of whose feet gene- 

 rally so much interferes with each other, may advance the hind foot a little more 

 rapidly, or raise the fore one a little more slowly, so that the blow may fall on 



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