CRIBBING— KICKING. 



203 



to tread upon it, after which he will refuse to eat it. By far the 

 best preventive, in my opinion, is the bar muzzle, consisting in an 

 iron frame work, covering the lips and nose, and suspended from 

 the head by a leather head collar, so that the lips can reach the 



BAR MUZZLE FOR CRIB-BITERS. 



corn or hay, but the teeth are too wide to pass through the bars 

 and seize the manger. This mechanical contrivance is entirely 

 harmless, and perfectly effectual, the sole objection to it being 

 the fact that it proclaims the wearer to every one who looks into 

 the stable as a cribber. This may be a valid reason for rejecting 

 its use for dealers' horses, but in a gentleman's stable, utility and 

 humanity ought to have precedence of such a feeble argument. 

 When the bar muzzle is adopted, it should always be kept on, 

 excepting, of course, when the bridle replaces it for work or exer- 

 cise, or while the head is being dressed. 



Kicking the wall or stall post is sometimes a very annoy- 

 ing trick, and though not always done in a vicious manner, it is 

 objectionable, because the kicker is liable to lame himself, or one 

 of his neighbors. In mares it is often of a. sexual nature, and in 

 them it is much more common than in geldings, — the extent to 

 which it is carried by them being generally greatest at the begin- 

 ning and end of their being " in use." At such times some mares 

 go almost mad, if they have an irritating neighbor, who keeps 

 smelling them, and I once had one who kicked herself to pieces in 

 a paroxysm of this kind, which nothing but tying up the fore-leg 

 could restrain. There are several remedies in common use, but 

 none can be relied on in all cases. Foremost among these is the 



