New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-13
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL.
Against DOCKING HORSES TAILS
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRE-
vENTIoN OF CRUELTY To ANIMALS SHOWS
HOW BARBAROUs. CRUEL AND

entitled. "A Law to Prevent Mutation Sished
ar. j. -" in which the writer states that II l.
the women Of good society VINO are 10 o'aihe TOT
this sfea; wrong to helpless creatures. The society
for he Prevention OF Cruelty to Animals odhhol
prevent the wrong. which is done behind ciosed
doors In secret" Permit TO say that "h'ie H.
like many otncr crimes is being done III secret
the American Society for the Prevention OF cru
city to Animals is dong all that Il can 10
stop this fendish mutilation. section go. of the
Penal Code of the state Of New-Nork. makes IL
misdemeanor TO dock 4 horses toll, and the maxi
mum penalty IS one year in the pcntentiIry or H"V
fine. both.
si'nT This society has succeeded in convicins num-
Der OF people who have been guilty oi the oUeh'c
The owners Of horses. an sorry to say. are infu-
enced by thei, lazy coachmen ana Grooms' VINO
would II they could. not only cut off the taiIS OF
horses but would hog the names AMI cHp al 'he
hair off the bodies Of the horses TO save themselves
extra labor and the trouble OF properly GROOMING
In order that the public may know wnat docking
. really is permit me to occupy some 81 your Yer!
valuable space TO explain:
horses tail The anatomy of the tail may not De
fully understood, nor the methods Oh dpTN' sor &c
generally known. We think II n~cesSaIN' NY.
fore. to acquaint the public with the facts aDom'
docking and with the opinions Of many We-KnCW,nx
veterinary surgeons upOn the dangers the o'"o'S
and the uselessness of the operation and,
blood vessels which are envcloped in skin. sens-
tive the under surface as on any portion 81 .ne
in the canal of the backbone. extends from .he
base of the brain to short distance behind tne
lOins and il terminates posteriorly in pointer tN
remi,y, which is continued by the mass OF nervous
runkseauda e@Hlna In num6rI j9e w sS the su
perior is the sensory nerve and the nierlof une
and four pairs Of muscles These latter are known
the erectores coccygS. the Two leP.SSS H..
coccygis. the curvatoles coccygis ana the lWS
comprossores coccygis. They are all supplied with
nerves of sensation and of ycli'on Ito prepare
cure him firmly by a twitch on his nose to raise
one of his forelegs his breast. and 10 tie there
cut the hair from around the stump OF tne 'a an
and to tie string. or piece OF catgHt, arrow en-. .nr
the severence of the tail b. the docking instrument;
a red-hot iron is applied 10 stop the oleelIhe. Al
while undergoing the operation is sufficient cyl,
dence. The horses first action is 10 jerk MS hedh
Controlled by the twitch his nose, of itself an in
trument Of torture he then croucheS TO me sroGnI
ended he is found to be dripping with sweat As
witnesses have expressed 1t, the water iafE runs
off him"
Docking is advocated chiefly by grooms, who wish
10 spare themselves the considerable manual labor
OF caring for the tail; and upon tn recommendation
OF such the thoughtess owner oil the morse
consents &c the mutiation
The practice of docking was introduced into this
country many yeas ago from England. That the
custom is an old learn from Hartman, IN
his "Traite des Haras." page 27i He reports that
the Council OF Cachyd. which met in England
toward the close Of the eighth century, prohibited
the practice of docking horses. on the gr.uni mat
il was "a bar5arous custom" In our day and
Fl country docking has been condemned by the most
prominent veterinarians and horsemer. and also by
the United States Veterinary Medical Association at
their thrty-frs annual meeting at Phliad"iphia
Penn September 20 1891 A standing reward OF
large sum is Offered by our society for the arrest
and conviction of any person found docking horses
The usual arguments for the mutilation are; First
that 'he opera ion is nearly If not quite. painless
owing to the low degree Of sensibity possessed by
the tail. and the rapdity with which the ampu-
taton is Effected: second. that removing some
inches Of the all prevents harnessed horses from
throwing it over the rens, and prevents running
away or kicking" These arguments are answered
by Dr. George Fleming in a way that may be re-
garded conclusive:
Nothing be further from the iTg'h , than aa the
bty. 1t is composed Of bones. muscles nerves ana
bood-yesseis as abundanty as any other part OF
the body. From inquiries Instituted during many
years and from personal experience, We find that
when horses have run away, or kicked, owing to the
ways been .docked.' and their behavior was.
doubt. due to their remembering me painful opera
!, the tail a short tail is more readily thrown over
and the reins can more readily drop under it. Be
sides, person VINO Woud a.o" ,he r 1 70 orop
under his horses tail Is not mt 10 be driver.
From an artistic point Of view. docking is dis
fgurement which destroys the contours Of the body
When IL is preferred hat the horses tail be short
banging the hairs close to the stump Is all that Is
necessary There is, in fact no single valid argn-
ment in favor of docking for any reason but disease
OF the tail on the other hand. however, the dis
eases that may result from docking deserve special
mention.
The most serious well as the most common
accident" after the operation IS tetarus or lock
Jaw. Paralysis due to inflammation Of The spinal
cord. may also tnsue. II the ngature to check
hemorrhage has been too tightly applied, or the
hot iron kept too long that the stump becomes
subsequently nfamed. the Inflammation may ex-
tend the muscles OF the hind quarters and lead
TO gangrene In other cases the bones Of the tail
have been known to become necrosed OF carious.
To those who claim that in the hands Of an ex-
perienced person the operation Is often painless We
wish to state weli-denned cases of lockiaw
were reported in 1891 by the officers Of the Royal
s. p. c. A. with certificate in each case from the
veterinary surgeon in attendance that the disease
had been caused by docking, and We beg to submit
the following opinions Of veterinary surgeons;
There is no justification for docking unless the
tail is deformed or diseased Professor Pritchard.
Royal College OF Veterinary surgeons.
Docking horses is cruel. barbarous. unnecessary
and discoTn,enanced by the prSGiession-Dr william
The operation is one employed 10 meet the de-
mands OF fashion II is needless painful ana cruel
IL OF its only means OF defence against flies and in
BE empovn condemnng ,Ss c4e 800 opeTatohDr
Samuel X. johnson. chief surgeon New-York Neter-
mary Hospital.
hope the day may soon arrive when veterinarian
viii refuse to perform the Operation With them l
or not docking Will remain as i i; useless worth
tard. NJ. D.. Y. NJ
Those who practise docking do II clandestinely
and cannot Justify their act. That docking the
muiilatOn OF the tail, infcts much pain and suf-
ferins cannot be denied The structufe inyoived
be lacerated and then scared with a red-hot
iron without causing intense and often prolonged
pan.-Dr L. Mclean. Al. r. &. Y. s.
Besides the cruelty which is ackr owedgcd TO be
identical with the operation. there reasons
the ground OF physiology why the tail should be ef,
entre.-George II. Dadd, Theory and Practice of
Veterinary Medicine and Surgery" D. 1885,
Such operations as docking, nicking and ear-crop-
ping of horses must be cassed together not only
cruel In themselves useless and painful operations
are crueD. but which render animals less vau-
abe.-Iieorge Fleming. g. r.. IL D.. +. r. &. V s
To say that the mutatOn is nearly painless ~
untruth which any veterinary surgeon knows
To say that /, is necessary In order the
horse from throwing It's tall over the reins and