560 NERVOUS DISEASES. 



in a state of nature use their front teetii in the prehension and 

 pulling of their food, far more than they would do in a box or 

 stall, especially when their hay takes the form of " chop ; " hence 

 the almost invariable tendency which stabled horses have to gnaw 

 wood-work. I am unable to trace the connection between this habit 

 and the serious vice of wind-sucking. 



Idleness and ennui are two potent predisposing causes of this 

 vice, even if they do not give rise to it. Irritability while 

 groom.ing may prompt a horse to crib, by inducing him to catch 

 hold of his manger with his teeth. Want of food disposes horses 

 to lick their manger and the walls of their stalls, and thus to 

 contract this vice. Insufficiency in the volume of the food and 

 arrangements of the manger which facilitate cribbing is one of the 

 principal causes. Cart-horses rarely crib, and their immunity is 

 due to the fact that these animals are always given bulky food. 

 Heredity, especially on the paternal side, is a frequent cause of 

 this vice. All experienced horsemen are aware that it is often 

 acquired by imitation, which fact is true only as regards young 

 horses. It is possible that irritation from teething or worms may 

 induce it. 



EFFECT ON HEALTH.— The practice of this vice gives rise 

 to various diseased conditions of tlfe alimentary canal, such as : 

 dilation of the gullet and of the stomach; injury to the walls of 

 the stomach ; and chronic inflammation of the stomach and 

 intestines. 



PREVENTION. — ^Being aware of the evil influence of imitation 

 among young horses in the acquisition of this vice, be very careful, 

 even among foals, to protect them against it. 



The only certain means, with which I am acquainted, for pre- 

 venting the cribber or windsucker from practising his vice, are 

 those which render it impossible for him to perform the somewhat 

 difficult feat of swallowing air, and which may be applied in the 

 following ways : — 



1. By preventing him from compressing the mouthful of air 

 he intends to force into his gullet. This may be effected by 

 putting on a bridle of which the mouthpiece is a perforated 

 cylinder. For the object in question, the natives of India have 

 used from time immemorial this contrivance in the form of a piece 

 of female bamboo with holes bored in it. The great objection to 

 the carrying-out of this principle is the fact that the continued 

 presence of any kind of bit in the mouth will make the month 

 sore in a few days. 



2. By preventing the animal from drawing in his chin towards 



