The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-07-25
AGRICULTURAL.
Make the Collar Fit the Horse.

am now attending summer insti-
tutes in Minnesota. DR.. j. Curryer,
assistant director, gave us a talk the
other day on the subject OF fitting the
collar to borse's neck and shoulders.
II give the substance OF what he said
think it will be helpful to many. He
said the collar should fit closely on
each side of neck from end to end.
When the collar is pressed against the
shoulders it should ht so snugly on
each side that you cannot put your
fingers in anywhere. Az the bottom
there should be just room enough so
you can slip your fingers in. OF
course the collar should I'll, as above
described, after the names ere buckled
in place. Next see that the hame
tugs are not attached too low, or too
high, or the movement Of the shoulders
in walking gives too much motion,
back and forward, to the collar, and is
almost certain to cause soreness either
at the points Of the shoulders or at the
top Of the neck. There is a proper
place for the hame tugs to draw from
but it varies on different horses. When
they are attached to the names at just
the right points there will be but very
little motion at the top of the names
as the horse walks along. When the
hame tugs are too low there will be a
wearing back and forth of the names
at the top. This keeps the collar
twisting first one way and then the
other, and often makes the top of neck
and points of shoulders sore at the
same time.
Some farmers when collars do not
fit get sweat pads and put under them.
This is very bad practice. 1t softens
the shoulders instead OF toughening
them. 1t has about the same effect on
the shoulders of the horse that it
would do your feet to wear your over
shoes in hot weather. The only prop
er way to do is to fit the collar to the
neck of the horse. To do this per-
fectly you need to understand how col
lars are made. They are fitted over a
form, intended to represent the neck
of horse, when as wet and soft as
water will make them. There they
are left until dry. Possibly they may
fit horse, but most likely they will
n lot Get q collar the right length for
the horse and about the right width
and then throw it into tub Of water
and let it soak over night. Wipe off
the water in the morning, and by
means of the hsme straps draw the col.
lar up snugly to the neck Of the horse
from top to bottom. Them work the
horse moderately through the day, let
ting the collar dry on his neck, and you
will have perfect fit for that particular
horse. Every little irregularity of the
shoulders will be fitted by the collar.
If you fit q collar to a horse in the
spring when he is fat, it may need
soaking and refitting later on when he
is worked down in flesh. II collar is
too long for horse you may be able to
use it by raising the hame tugs, but the
best way if it is much over in length is
to have it shortened. AS horse
shrinks in flesh it is of the utmost inn
portance that the hame straps be drawn
up little tighter, thus keeping the COL
lar snugly up to the neck. Keep the
shoulders and collar clean, and when
the horse is working hard battle the
shoulders every night with water that
has little salt in it, or with white oak
bark tea. The writer has used this brine
bath for many years, particularly in the
spring when the horses were getting &C.
customed to hard work. That with
good fitting collar will usually prevent
trouble with neck and shoulders. We
bathed the neck as We'll as the should
ers.-T. B. Terry, in Practical Farmer.