Hustling Horses.—Never hustle a horse at a gap, or in a crowd, or on any account cram him at his fences. Give him time. He has, as Major Whyte Melville used to say, “to carry the bigger fool of the two, and to think for both.”
Brushing.—For a horse that “brushes” procure a leathern boot, the colour of the foot, made of prepared horse-skin, having the hair left on, and laced up the leg. On, or just over the seat of injury, a concave piece of stout leather should be let into the covering, and the hollow thus formed (which acts as a protector) should be filled up with a small pad of lint, previously saturated with zinc lotion. This serves to cure the sore, and also prevents a recurrence of it. I append a sketch.
Sawmouth Bridoon.—This is a terribly severe bit, and one which no good judge of training would permit to be used among his horses. It is calculated to destroy rather than to instruct. The illustration shows the nature of it.
To Shoe a nervous or vicious horse, or a young sensitive colt, take him to a skilled farrier—one who has a good temper in addition to his other endowments—and while he is working, take up your stand at the animal’s head, at the same side as that on which the farrier is engaged. Hold the bridle loosely in your hands, dispense with blinkers, and let the horse see what is going on. You can manage this by allowing him to turn his head when he tries to do so. Do not permit any third person to come in the way during the operation. It is a good plan to stand a horse that is to be shod close by a wall. If the smith be unfortunately a duffer at his work, instruct him to smooth the leg downwards from the shoulder or thigh, as the case may be, lifting it up and putting it down again, if the horse seems frightened, and even going away for a moment, and again returning, in order that confidence may become fully established. The safest and surest method of overcoming irritability or nervousness is to exercise a quiet kindness, combined with a cool firmness of purpose; and to accomplish this end, one, or at most two, persons, will be infinitely better than a number. The adjoining sketch shows a horse under treatment on principles of which I do not profess to approve, although I am willing to acknowledge that there are cases in which actual vice can only be overcome by severity and brute force. The custom here depicted of casting an intractable animal for the purpose of getting him shod is common enough in almost all cavalry stables, and is seldom accompanied by any cruelty, save on rare occasions, when the attendant who carries the whip makes use of it to practical purpose—a thing net often called for. When a horse is to be shod thus, the ground about him is usually covered with sacks, to break the force of his fall; but these the artist has not thought it necessary to depict.
CASTING A VICIOUS HORSE IN A CAVALRY STABLE.
Broken-winded horses require regular work, and regular feeding. A generous diet, composed of oats, beans, and barley, will be very good for them; and in place of hay give about six pounds of wheaten straw every alternate day, with carrots very frequently.