822 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



There is a class of shoulder suited for draught, viz., one 

 that is upright, and that affords above the shoulder joints 

 a good wide bearing surface for the collar to rest on. Such 

 shoulders are thick at the root of the neck, while the 

 withers are low and broad. In fact, the most suitably 

 shaped surface for a collar to rest on, is exactly the 

 opposite to that required by a riding horse. 



Fine oblique shoulders are most unsuited for draught, 

 as they afford very little bearing surface, and the tendency 

 of such a collar is to rise on the shoulders. All collars 

 rise on the shoulders immediately weight is put into them, 

 but this rising is aggravated in an animal with fine sloping 

 shoulders. 



Necks and shoulders vary very much in shape. A 

 moderately thick neck in front of the withers, with plenty 

 of muscle on the sides of the neck and clothing the front of 

 the blade-bone, are the best structural conditions for 

 draught. Thin necks, such as may almost be felt through 

 from side to side, show a want of stamina and defective 

 strength. 



In dealing with injuries due to saddlery, we divided the 

 causes into two groups — friction and pressure. While 

 pressure holds the palm in the production of saddle 

 injuries, friction is the chief cause of collar trouble. 



Fitting a Collar. —ThQ secret in fitting a collar is to get 

 it to fit closely in order to reduce the friction. Its inner 

 edge must lie close against the side of the neck, but no 

 effort must be required to press it on to the shoulders, 

 or it indicates it is too narrow. Between the inside of the 

 body of the collar and the neck, the flat of the fingers 

 should find admission from top to bottom. More than this 

 allows of too much lateral play and produces chafing. 



The collar should rest evenly on the shoulders from top 

 to bottom. To judge of this, both sides of it should be 

 taken hold of and the collar pressed into its place. In 

 doing this, there should be no see-saw motion, which would 

 indicate that only the centre of the body of the collar was 

 bearing on the shoulders. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



