Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-02-07
DOCKING HIS TAIL.
MAKING NoB5Y CARRIAGE HORSES BY
THE NEW OPERATION.

kedhot Iron-heeping sharp Lookout
For s. p. G. A. Spottcrs.
Horses tails are now docked in q new
md. it is claimed, q moro humane way.
The work is done by specialists, who
call at the stables to perform the opera
tion. Like dentists, who dull the pains
Of teeth extracting by seating tho vic
Tins on luxurious plush chairs, modern
farriers try to make their patients COM
Portable during the tail clipping. Still,
despite these well meant efforts, dock
ing is painful But stablemen all say it
is not as painful as tooth pulling.
In the present case farrier was sum-
moned to perform the operation. He ar
rived at the stable, carrying his outfit
in canvas bag, like sailors kit. Aft
er asking the coachman if the people
present were "all right" the farrier
carefully boltsd and locked the doors
and windows opening into the street
and the back yard.
Excuse me, gents" said the farrier
briskly as he fastened the last window,
"but l have to be on my guard. Only
last week a bloke jumped me over
back fence, and that cost me 500, that
did"
One of the back windows was left
open from the top, although the shut
ters were closed, so that the draft would
carry off the fumes of small charcoal
furnace such as plumbers use, that the
farrier started up. This was to bring
the cauterizing irons to white heat.
The horse was then led into an end
stall and fastened by an ordinary head
stall to the manger, which was filed
with oats. A piece of stout canvas, sup
ported by a wooden framework pre-
viously built up in the stall, was swung
under the horse's body. On one side this
canvas hammock was secured by i'm
movable fastenings, but on the other
side the fastening ropes were tied to
pulleys, SO the horse could be raised up
in the hammock.
Some stout wooden rails were built
up to make a fence behind and almost
touching his hind legs. The tail was
laid across the top rail and strap put
over it. The hammock was then raised
up until the horse was almost on his
toe tips. Trussed in this way the horse
could not kick or move his body or tail.
Now the actual operation began. The
coachman tied stout string around the
tail at the place the incision was to be
made and gathered up the long strands
of hair that fell over it into coil and
fastened it back with string, SO as to
expose the skin of the tail vertebr9. He
then took firm hold ON the lower end
of the tail, and the farrier began work.
The old fashioned docking shears with
which the tail used to be divided arc
now out Of use. The operation was done
with o surgeons S amputating knife. The
farrier poised the sharp edged lance over
the vertebre, and with short, deft
strokes, welding the knife with steady
hand, he cut through the flesh and car
tilage, quickly severing the tail.
There was no flow of blood, the string
tied above the cut checking the hemor-
rhage. While tho farrier brought an
iron at white heat from the furnace the
coaohman clipped "a bunch of hairs from
the severed end. He covered the raw
cut thickly with the hairs and then the
cauterizing iron was pressed against the
flesh. A sickening odor of burning hair
and flesh arose at once, making the air
of the closed up stable almost suffocat-
ing. This was the end of the operation.
Both the cutting and the burning had
been done inside of 60 seconds.
AS precaution the horse had not been
fed that morning, and he began raven
ously munching at the oats as soon as
he was tied to the manger. During the
cutting the horse did not quit eating,
but he shook his head, and the body
quivered when the iron burned the flesh.
At this time too, the horse gave shrill
neigh of pain, and but for the support
ing hammock he might have fallen, fo1
he tried to crouch down in the stall. As
soon as the iron was removed tho pain
must have vanished, for the horse i'm
mediately began at the oats again and
seemed at ease. By this improved meth.
cd the operation is less cruel than under
the old style of amputation.
The farrier's fear of detection was due
to the vigilance of the Society For the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which
offers standing reward of 800 to any
one who will report case of docking
at its Offices and give the evidence neces
sary to convict the offenders. New
York World.