METHOD OF TREATMENT. 



223 



of straining and injuring the neck by the violence of the jerking and 

 pulling. I have known of colts pulling so hard as to make the neck 

 stiff, deforming and spoiling them; and in a few cases even killing 

 themselves by dislocating the neck. Yet there was practically no 

 better remedy in use than to hitch by a halter so strong that he 

 could not break it. The point was to be able to so hitch the colt as 

 to induce the least inclination to pull,' and that when lie did pull he 

 could not break away, strain,, or otherwise injure himself. 



The first successful experiment I made in the management of. 

 this habit was to pass the, hitching part of the halter through the 

 ring in the manger, thence back over the belly-band, and tie to the 



hind foot, leaving it so 

 long that the horse could 

 step around as usual. 

 When the horse pulled, 

 the strain came directly 

 upon the hind leg, which 

 prevented his pulling se- 



Fio. 270.— As the Colt is Liable to Break Loose when Hitched in the Usual Manner. 



verely . After submitting to this, I next tied the hitching part around 

 the fore leg above the knee, so that should he pull, the leg would 

 be pulled forward to the manger. But I soon discovered two ob- 

 jections to this method: First, there was danger, by this violent 

 pulling upon the leg, of causing serious lameness ; and secdnd, 

 when afterward hitched directly by the head, there was a liability 

 of his repeating the pulling. 



To avoid this, I took a cord of sufficient length, brought the 

 center under the tail like a crupper, bringing both ends forward 

 over the back, twisting a few times, and then knotted them together 

 in front of the breast. I then passed the ends through the rings of 

 the halter, and tied to the post or manger. When the horse pulled, 

 the strain came directly upon the tail, which, in the case of a colt, 



