The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-10-30
The Docking Of Tails and Thinning o. Names
Fail to Add to the Beauty of the
Animal.
written fer THE MORNING CALL

] q
large, beautifully turned Clydesdsle mare.
Even before l saw the whole body, knew
it could not be that of mule, but l was
wholly unpreDared for the sight that greeted
my eyes. The animals legs were neatly
trimmed and Shorn Of the leather" which
is the ornament and protection Of the pas
terms OF this class OF horses; her mane was
'hogged' until il stood up like a briStle
brush all along her graceful crest; her lore
lock WAS gone, ana from It's root 20 the end
Of its stump her tail was closely shaTen,
only a few hairs being left at the extreme
- lid These were cut TO lie 9Th OF about
eight inches and formed sort Of tassel at
the end. the whole resembling exactly the
, uuTnyelY caudle appendage OF that meian-
cHoly brute, tie mule What does not look
wholly cut CT place, however, with the mar
row hips and straight, cat-hams OF the
mule. presented q most ludIcr0uS and pltl-
ful appearance decorating the massive quar-
ters of the huge. well-conduioned Clyde.
/ gaZsd al The miraculous object until l
could keep silence no longer, ana then
asked of the youth who held the mares
bride:
"Why do you have the animal clipped up
lie glanced proudly at his mutiIated
That's an imported mare" he said, with
il-concealed eXuliatlOn.
figured like that before she was brought
here?"
''She amt disfgured; that's the way to
clip en-. We had 1t done purpose, after
Is il possible? What for?"
SOS to show her breeding. Shes an i'm
ported mare"-WIih mighty and hOrSeman-
like scorn for the feminine ignorance that
needed enlightenment on such a subject.
Then lie clambered upon the mares back
and she trotted heavily of, leaving me lost
in admiration of her singular get up and
that 1t betrayed, If only my uninitiated eyes
were able to appreciate L.
l have seen several Of these mOnstrOsities
lately among breeders CT heavy horses, but
this creature was quite the worst | ever be-
held. I saw several draught horses with
dCc6ed tails al "a horse show recently, and
was told that the ab0mlnatlon had been
made 10 improve the horses lookS-a good
! fools explanation OF right FOOLS perform
= aBee
It seems rather pity that we Americans
should be going back to so many Of the
absurd old abuses that have long since sunk
into oblivion IN England, where they 0rlgl-
mated. Having prded ourselves Tor yeats
upon the fact that we leave our horses
ears, names and tales "as God made them. -
we are Row beginning 10 NEEDLE with them
Just as the English are fading out the use
-leSsness, cruelty and abSurdity Of all the
old cuc0seTninnY notions that have SO long
prevailed regarding what IS ornamental n
a horse.
Docking has been forbidden in the Brit
isA army, ana the order has gone forth that
.sn0Tt-iailed horses are not even TO be pur-
chased for TemOuuts. The royal commits
sion on hoTse-bIeedng in Britain has Issued
warning 10 breeders that the practice OF
docking the tails Of their colts viii here
after tend seriously TO depTeclate the value
- Of the animals. as the army viii no longer
be found market for the mUti,ated crea-
lures, and the fact that the cavalry no
Longer use them will tend largely 10 render
them questionable among other Lorsey
BrtoBs.
The reason the "bobtaiI' has become IN
POPULAR IN the British army Is one which II
We Americans have any sense we will
recognize beforehand, ana not wait until
it's forced upon our notice by the suffer-
.jngS Of tortured DTutes who have been made
10 conform q fashions behest. England is
not fy country, but long campaigns IN the
n lot season, iD countries where flies abound,
have taught he British that long tails are
their horses only protection against the
tOltures Of these pests.
II was my mis- fortune, few days since,
70 sit, f0E half an hour, awaiting friend
and holding the Teins over horse whose
tai had been dccked. l would not do It
again for all the money tie horse IS worth.
The very flies, bTainless creatures that they
no protection from them, and they alighted
in sRsrms upon his hind quarters. He
- could not wrinkle his skin, then, his poor
stump could not reach them, and all lie
could do was TO kick and jump and move,
CONSTANTLY to be rid Of his singing tor
mentors. a stablemaa told me once it was
worth more to feed a sh0rt-tailed horse
than one with a long tail. Because, lie
said, even If you keep EN- blanketed the
bobtails Is stamping about all the time, and
worrying on account OF the flies, an II takes
more feed 10 keep hem 10 condition..
Ia this same connection he let me into a
secret Look at that boss now" said he
e I'm lOsin' money feedin' him. He ac-
tugly gifts more feed every month than the
money git for his board'll buy, yet he's
gaunt as razoT-backed hog. All can do
o. Is TO iii him Vi full OF water when lie goes
out ID the morning; that makes him look
plump, an bis owner don't think I'm
staTVin' him."
1t used 10 be the custom in England to
crop the ears, as well as dock the tail OF
horses There were also almost as many
ways Of trimming up the tails as there were
fools to follow the custom. Nicking was,
I'D 10 the beginning Of this century, popu-
lar one or these methods. This process
consisted in seYerng the tendOns on the
under side Of the tail by nicking or cutting
the organ at intervals along its under sur
face. The tail was then elevated by line
and pulleys, and kept in such position
that the nicks could not reunite until such
time as the wounds we're healed. This gave
the tall an upward ard outward curve, the
hair Of the tail being also shortened. u is
this custom that gave the peculiar fattshape
10 the tails OF tue horses we see In early
society pictures, which, until understood
horses tails could be made TO assume that
appearance, ] always supposed were meant
for caTicatuTes.
The ''eIu0bed" tail was another fashion
able freak introduced first In Queen Anne's
time. by Lord Cad0gan, among the Dragon
horses, and the custom, which had nothing
butts senselessness to recommend IL, spread
TO the SufOlk-Punches and even crossed to
the Continent. 10 plugging, the tail was cut
10 a length Of two or three inches aud about
an inch Of this small stump trimmed clear
Of hair. The effect could not have been
pretty, but 1t made such an impression upon
the times that even TO this DAY used-up.
worthless horse is called AN old plug"
The tails OF horses were also pulled" q
practice still In use among modern dealers
for Improving" the names OF the ANIMALS.
This method consists in pulling out, one or
two at a time, the hairs from either side OF
the tail. Their names and tails are regarded
-Rs signs OF good breeding IN tie horse. and
doubtless they are such. as long meddHng
with the names and tails OF hgb-bred
horses has caused these important adjuncts
TO their good appearance to become much
thinner than IS natural 10 the less highly
developed creature. The "bang taiP' of to-
day, as the turf reporters love to call the
thoroughbred raceh0rse, is horse whose
tail has been shortened, hut not locked.
This peculiar cut Of the running racers tail
Is supposed to give him sportsmanlke
air. Whether It does is purely a matter of
taste, regarding which it is hard to Judge.
II Is not particularly cruel, as it leaves the
horse most Of his natural weapon against
The flies, bat ii certainly is not beautiful.
If American horsemen are so far forget
ting American custom and tradition that
they must needs take up with al abandoned
old-country notion, the American women
ought 10 set their faces against it, and pro-
test, everywhere and always, against this
barbarous innovation. Docking the tails of
horses is not only cruel ia its results, but
immeasurably cruel IN the operation. which
often results in the death, from lockjaw Of
fho onirn q Ia nrarafpd nnnn- Ihn tail w hicl.