ON THE HABITS AND VICES OF HORSES. 
415 
Tearing oft" the Clothing. We now and then meet with a horse 
that will never allow any clothes to remain upon his back in the stable. 
If his head is at liberty, he will be sure to tear his clothing all to 
pieces, and get it under his feet. Such a horse may be rather 
expensive to keep decently clad; and you must be content either 
to let him be without clothing altogether, or else tie his head up 
to the rack all day, and put a muzzle on him at night. 
But all these that I have yet mentioned may be considered inno¬ 
cent habits, in comparison with some that follow. 
Kicking in the Stable is a more serious evil, a vice which many 
horses take to. Some take a fancy to kicking against the wall, 
and others against the wood-work (the stall, the post, or the 
bail), by which practice they often swell their hocks, disfigure 
and lame themselves, and are liable to be rendered unfit for use, 
at least for a certain time. Capped hocks and callous enlarge¬ 
ments of the legs are frequent consequences of this ugly habit: 
and I remember one instance where a horse persevered in it, in 
spite of every thing that could be done, until he fairly broke his 
leg. This vice is perhaps more prevalent amongst the horses of 
the cavalry than in private stables, because of their standing so 
much in bail stables, and a great proportion of them being mares, 
they being more prone to this vice than geldings. At the com¬ 
mencement, if prompt measures be taken, it may in general be 
checked or corrected ; but if allowed to go on unheeded it soon 
becomes a confirmed vice. Whenever a horse is observed to have 
been kicking during the night, he should be immediately remov¬ 
ed, and placed in a new situation. He ought to be put by himself 
and watched. Several horses, but more especially mares, will 
kick when in contact with others, that will be quiet enough when 
placed alone. This precaution, together with that of nailing a 
thorn or whin-bush against the side (either the wall or post, or 
both), will generally be sufficient, if resorted to in time, to check 
or prevent this evil from going any further; but when once it has 
become a confirmed habit, nothing will then do but a log fas¬ 
tened upon the leg; and even this will not always succeed in 
putting a stop to the practice. Logs should be of different 
lengths, according to the part of the leg to which they are to be 
attached. If buckled above the hock (which is generally the 
most effectual), the log should hang down as far as the middle 
of the shank-bone; and it is better to be of the long form. If 
placed upon the middle of the leg, it should hang down to about 
the top of the hoof; and it is best to be of a round form. Some¬ 
times logs arc placed on the leg lower down. An objection to t his 
practice is, that horses are apt to tread upon them with the other 
foot. 
