We remember a case in the judging ring where a stallion with notoriously poor, flat, brittle hoofs was being trotted out for inspection by the awarding committee. At the first trot out, off flew the shoe, carrying with it a goodly portion of horny wall. “Too bad, too bad!” condoled the judge with the owner, who instantly replied, “Oh, that’s all right; a horse with a foot like that will never miss it!” And the judge—a beginner—seemed to take it for granted that the foot was a specially good one, precisely as he was expected to do, and he gave the horse a prize, although he had not been properly shown out like his rivals.
Wire Marks Over Side-Bones.
Instances have been disclosed where gashes have purposely been cut with a knife on the hoof head just over a prominent side-bone so that when the wounds healed and left large scars the side-bones might be laid to a wire cut. This trick is mostly used in the case of a stallion that might, on account of a side-bone, be refused a license for public service in states where laws are in force for the supervision of the horse breeding industry.
In Wisconsin, which was the first state to enact a stallion service law, we found large scars over side-bones on both fore feet of a pure-bred draft stallion. In another case, where a complaint was filed to the effect that a stallion was unsound from side-bone, the owner claimed by letter that the side-bone was due to a calk wound. Examination by a veterinarian disclosed the fact that the wound scar was over a side-bone on a hind foot, and there were two large side-bones on each fore foot and no scars on the latter. The state license of this horse was promptly cancelled for cause.
Wedging a Cribber.
Some dealers temporarily make a horse desist from cribbing by driving hard wood wedges between his front incisor teeth. Another old plan is to saw between the teeth. The soreness makes it painful for the horse to practise the habit of cribbing. Such a horse may be returned to the commission man, no matter how much time has elapsed since the purchase. The trick is difficult to discover unless the horse has cribbed long enough to render the appearance of the teeth suspicious. In the confirmed cribber the teeth are worn off or levelled and usually have lost the marks.
Another way of stopping a horse from cribbing is to blindfold the animal, place a block of wood on the incisor teeth and strike it with a mallet. By this cruel means the parts are made so sore that the horse temporarily stops catching hold of the manger to crib and suck wind.
The buyer should always, when possible, see the horse in the stall prior to the show out. If he remembers this and moves quick enough he may see the horse wearing a strap buckled around his neck just back of the ears. Such a horse is a cribber and wind-sucker and the strap is put on to prevent the latter vice.
Making an Artificial Star.
It sometimes happens or is claimed to have happened that a pure-bred foal, registered when young in the stud book, is set down as having a star in its forehead but which on attaining maturity shows no such mark. Sometimes in matching horses a difficulty is experienced when a perfect mate is found with the exception that a star is lacking.