horse, particularly if driven in a low four-wheeled trap, is almost sure, however careful the driver may be, to get his tail over at least one of the reins. If he does, it is a matter of great difficulty to release the rein, and if the horse is high-spirited or in any way vicious, as long as his tail is over the rein the driver has absolutely no control over him. He is in a position to kick, which he is almost sure to do, or to run, or to do anything he pleases, and he nearly always does something which he should not do. The opponents of docking are not persons who have driven high-spirited horses or who know anything about either tandem or four-in-hand driving. The danger, when a horse gets his tail over the rein, is multiplied a hundred-fold when he is the leader of a tandem, for in that case the driver is absolutely helpless; there is nothing that he can do but either jump out of the trap and run to the leader’s head or wait until such time as the leader may see fit to let the rein go. In the meantime the leader may be kicking, turning, pulling to one side, running away, upsetting the cart, or doing any one of a thousand things which the driver cannot in any way prevent. In pair driving it is also a very serious thing if either horse puts his tail over a rein. The result is that immediately control is lost not only over him but over the other horse as well, for half of the control over the other is had
through the coupling rein which is buckled to the rein caught in the tail. Many most serious accidents have been caused by long-tailed horses catching the reins. I do not therefore consider it safe for a woman to drive a long-tailed horse of any spirit.
Of course roadsters or trotting horses never should have their tails docked, nor should thoroughbreds or polo ponies, and many hunters do not. But when a woman drives any of these long-tailed horses, she is taking risks which she had better avoid.
With regard to the looks of a horse, to my mind no driving horse with any kind of a formal trap looks smart with a long tail any more than he does with a long mane, or forelock, or with the hair about his fetlocks untrimmed. I am not talking about a horse in the state of nature, but of a horse harnessed to a properly appointed trap.
With regard to saddle horses, I think also that a horse of the park, hack, or combination type looks far better with his tail docked.
It might be said that a trotting horse is quite as apt to get his tail over the rein as any other driving horse, but this assertion loses sight of the very different way in which a trotting horse is driven, and of the fact that in a trotting wagon the driver sits so near that he can reach down and lift the horse’s tail
over, and that trotting horses are carefully trained not to start under these circumstances.
Trotting horses are in a class by themselves, and it is more reasonable to say that the tails of trotting horses should be docked than that the tails of other driving horses should be long.
With regard to the mane, every driving horse should have his mane thinned out by pulling, so that it may not look shaggy. Most ponies look best with their manes closely hogged. If this gives a ewe-necked effect the mane may be cut in a curve, short at the head and withers and longer in the middle. The forelock on all driving horses should be cut entirely away.