GIVlNd A BALI.. 



641 



the nioutli in this manner facilitates the giving of the ball, and 

 saves the o]iei-atoi''s riglit liand, to a great extent, from becoming 

 lacerated by the horse's back teeth, to prevent whicli occurrence 

 it is advisable to have a glove on tlie right hand. 



Tlie BALLING IRON (Fig. 1.58, p. 6L3) is an instrument for 

 keejiing the mouth open. Its name appears to indicate that it is 

 u.sed for tlie object of giving balls, but it is rarely employed for 

 tliat purpose ; for the ball, before the instrument could lie removed, 

 would be liable to fall o,,t of the mouth. It is very useful, how- 

 ever, wlien an examination of the mouth or upper portion of the 



Fig. 157. — Giving a liorse a ball. 



gullet or windpipe has to be made. A curb bit with long cheeks 

 will prove a fairly efficient substitute for a balling iron. 



A BALLING PISTOL (Fig. 159, p. 643) is useful for giving balls 

 to fractious animals ; to those (like young horses) which are very 

 narrow between the two rows of the back teeth of the lower jaw ; 

 or to horses affected with some dangerously contagious disease, 

 such as glanders. 



An effective balling pistol can be made by taking a piece of 

 india-rubber tubing of convenient length and of slightly greater 

 diameter than that of a physio ball, and fitting into it a rounded 

 stick which will work freely in and out of it, and will be a little 

 longer than the tube. The stick should be flat at one end, and 



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