562 NERVOUS DISEASES. 



The crib-biter may be picketed in his stall by one fore leg in 

 front, and by the opposite hind leg behind, instead of being 

 tethered in the usual manner by a rope or chain to his headstall. 

 Or he may be kept in a loose box in which there is no object for 

 him to lay hold of with his teeth ; and be fed from a sheet placed 

 on the ground. If it is not convenient to do this, cover the edge 

 of the manger and other prominent objects with some substance 

 which the animal will not like to grasp with his teeth, such as that 

 used for making iron wire mill sieves, or rope made of coarse 

 fibres. Cocoa nut (or moonj in India) fibre will answer the purpose. 

 To increase the effect of these preventives, which are not always 

 successful, smear the edge of the manger, etc., with some evil- 

 tasting and vile-smelling substance, such as aloes or ooal tar. 

 Excellent results in preventing horses from cribbing and in curing 

 them from this vice have been obtained, by smearing with slaked 

 lime the wood work and other objects on which the animal cribs 

 or wind-sucks. The lime is prepared as follows : Put the desired 

 quantity of quicklime into a vessel, add water and stir it round 

 until a soft paste is formed, and cover over with a little water to 

 keep it moist. 



TKEATMENT.— Give plenty of hay and green food, so as to 

 feed the animal as nearly as practicable under natural conditions. 

 He should be fed on the ground and not from a manger. 



It is well to allow the cribber or wind-sucker (and, indeed, every 

 horse) a constant supply of water in his stall, and a lump of rock- 

 salt (weighing, say, 2 lbs.), to lick when he-chopses. 



LEGAL ASPECT OF CRIB-BITING AND WIND-SUCKING.— 

 These habits are regarded from a legal point of view, as vices and 

 not as unsoundness, as we may see from the case of " Scholefield v. 

 Robb" ("Moody and Robinson's Reports," Vol. I., p. 210), which 

 was, " on the warranty of a horse ' that it was sound and free from 

 vice.' The horse was bought to be delivered at a future day, and 

 the case of the plaintifl was, that the horse was a crib-bitesr and 

 wind-sucker. 



" Parke, B., told the jury, that if they thought the horse, at the 

 time of its being sold, and of the warranty being given, was not 

 a crib-biter, their verdict on both the last issues must be for the 

 defendant ; but, even if the evidence of the plaintiff satisfied them 

 that the horse was a crib-biter at the time of the warranty, such 

 evidence would not, in his opinion, support the allegation that it 

 was then unsound, so as to entitle the plaintiff to a verdict on 

 the second plea. To constitute unsoundness there must either be 

 some alteration in the structure of the animal, whereby it is 



