272 



MISCELLANEOUS HABITS. 



Fig. 336. 



struck or kicked, which, when struck, would react in the same way, 

 and thus prevent a repetition of the habit. Making the stall wide, 

 and padding the sides as explained, are the most simple and practi- 

 cal methods for preventing this habit. , 



Getting Cast in the Stall. 



This is mainly caused by being confined in a stall that is too 

 small. When the horse rolls and turns upon his back, he is so 



cramped and restrained by 

 the narrow walls that he is 

 unable to roll himself back 

 to regain his feet. Some- 

 times the division of the 

 stall is so short that in the 

 effort to roll, his body comes 

 across, and in contact with, 

 the ends, and, the head be- 

 ing held fast by the halter, 

 it is impossible for him to 

 get up ; so a large, roomy 

 stall would of itself be al- 

 most a complete remedy. The simplest way to prevent it is to tie 

 one end of a piece of rope or cord to the beam or ,flooring directly 

 overhead, and the opposite end to the head-piece of the halter 

 back of the ears, leaving it just long enough to allow the horse 

 to reach his nose to the 

 ground. As he lies down 

 and tries to roll, being un- 

 able to bring the top of his 

 head to the ground, he is 

 disabled from rolling. A 

 small ring should be stitched 

 to the top of the halter, to 

 which the strap or cord can 

 be easily and securely fas- 

 tened when necessary. 



Some horses are liable, by 

 pawing, to get the fore foot, 

 and in some cases even the hind foot by scratching the head with 

 the leg, over the halter-strap, thereby becoming tangled and help- 

 less in the stall. The halter should be hitched higher than com- 

 mon, though long enough to permit the horse to lie down easily. 



Fig. 337. 



