CROP P m& AND DOCKlNQ. 



247 



This custom of using ar- 

 bitrary checks upon horses 

 for giving fictitious style to 

 them in driving, at the ex- 

 pense of a great deal of com- 

 fort, freedom, and vital force, 

 is of the same foolish character 

 with various senseless cus- 

 toms of both civilized and 

 savage nations, such as the 

 cramping of the feet of Chi- 

 nese women, or the wearing 



Fig. 395. — Let the Drivers Try It. 



of the finger-nails to such a length 

 as to interfere with the freedom of 

 the hands, flattening the heads of 

 Indian children, and the tattooing 

 of the body by African and other 

 -tribes. The custom of checking, in 

 the hands of ignorant people espe- 

 cially, has become so very common 

 as to demand the most serious effort 

 to prevent it. 



Chopping and Docking. 



Fig. 296. — A Gentle Family Horse; Show 



ing the Discomfort and Pain of 



High Checking. 



In accordance with these ridiculous 

 notions, introduced, perhaps, by some 

 titled fool, it. was the custom in Eng- 

 land, about forty years ago, to crop 



horses' ears and manes, illustrations 



of which are given from an old Eng- , 



lish work, showing the method of 



doing, it. Thirty years ago, in this 



country, this was carried to such an 



extreme by ,many, that it became the 



point of ambition of the professional 



dealer to have a horse with the 



shortest and most elevated tail, with 



a short tuft of hair hanging to it. 



To show that this is true, I give an 



illustration of such, copied from the 



English work before named. 



Fig. 297.— The Family Horse Trying 

 to Relieve himself from the Res- 

 traint of the Check. 



