ON THE HABITS AND VICES OF HOUSES. 
667 
And now I shall endeavour to redeem the pledge I gave in 
a' former paper on this subject, and which appeared in The 
Veterinarian more than a year ago, under the signature of a 
“ Looker-on;” w r here it has been proposed to arrange the habits 
and vices of horses under the three following heads, viz. those 
we notice in the stable ; those connected with riding; and those 
we observe on driving. 
In enumerating as many as I could call to mind of the first 
class, I have perhaps omitted some: I ought, for instance, to 
have mentioned the practice of bolting or swallowing the corn 
whole; a habit which greedy feeders are apt to get into, 
especially when fed in open stables along’ with others, as in 
barracks: in such situations a quick and a slow feeder should 
never be allowed to stand in contact, as the one will almost 
inevitably get more than his own allowance of oats, to the 
detriment of the other, and be likely to contract this wasteful 
habit besides. When a horse is known to sw r allow r his corn 
whole, it is customary to mix with it a quantity of chaff* or 
chopped straw ; and this has generally the effect of making him 
take more time in masticating. But I have know n some in¬ 
stances where the animal would swallow not only oats and chaff 
whole, but even beans also, as might be seen by their con¬ 
stantly passing unchanged in the dung. In such a case as this, 
perhaps the only remedy we have is to give the corh in a 
bruised or broken state. 
But the teeth should always be looked to, and carefully 
examined on these occasions, either w r hen a horse is noticed to 
bolt his corn or quid his hay ; as some irregularity in this ap¬ 
paratus may be the cause of his not masticating’ his food pro¬ 
perly ; and especially a sharp ragged state of the edges of the 
grinders, which, by wounding the inner surface of the cheek 
or the tongue, and thus checking the process of mastication, 
may give rise to the habit of bolting the corn whole. I need 
not say this ought to be immediately corrected by the tootli- 
rasp. 
It may be a little point in stable economy not commonly 
known, and yet perhaps sometimes of use to know*, that there 
are some horses who w r ill never lie down whilst attached to the 
manger, or, in other words, as long as they are tied by the 
head; in consequence of which, they do not perhaps thrive and 
do so well as they ought. The plain and simple remedy for 
this is to place the animal in a loose box, and the good effects 
of this measure will generally be perceived. 
These little matters may be well enough know n to grooms 
and those who have the practical care ot horses; but ought 
