Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-05-16
FACTS ABOUT DOCKING.

Frank s. Byers In u5mane Journal
l have seen the nicled horse in the pull
leys and weights for weeks at a time-the
operation OF seveTng the cords Of his tail
ii several places, the act of breaking these
cuts open every two or three days, that
they might not heal or knit, at each break
ing tine. have heard the horse scream
WIN PAIN and beg for mercy / have seen
the perspiration run from him in streams
ana when the tail was properly set have
seen the skinning up of the hide, the un-
Joining OF the bone, the soaring iron ap-
pled' and the finishing touches added.
have seen the horse come out of the.
nlcking and docking stall ever 100 pounds
lighter than on entering il. / have seen
horses come out of it that were never
worth a bad dollar as a result Of IT, /
have also seen the docking of horses with
out the nicking process and / have vet
to see the first operation where the animal
did not.suiier pain.
Have you ever visited our mountain
regions during fly season and observed
what untold value the horses tail was
to hlm at that time, and how the short
tailed horse had to suffer for the want of a
tan, how he was special prey for the flies
and how the poor brute would fight with
his hind legs until his feet were worn to
the quick ?
Have you observed the long-tailed
brood mare with her young foal keeping
close 10 the protection OF that long tail
when the flies are the worst during the
daytime On the other hand have YOU
observed the docked brood mare franti-
cally working her mutilated stub and hind
legs wearing her hind feet to the quick
IN her desperate efforts to rid herself of
the flies The poor young foal stands off
afraid to 60 within striking distance Of its
dams mad actions. Have YOU seen how
the big black horse fly and the yellow elk
fly will bleed the tailless dam and the
young foal
Have you observed the marked differ
ence in the condition Of the two mares and
their ioals Have you noticed that the
docked mare will make from - to 20
more strokes with her stub, while the long
tailed mare makes but one Have YOU
investigated the many pastures near this
city during fly-time, even though the bar
barous mountain flies seldom invade the
plains or valleys, and observe the city
sore-toed, tailless horse out on pasture
for a restup Have you ever heard what
some owners have to say about turning
their sleek-coated and fat dob" out on
pasture when the same is returned to him?
He can hardly recognize the horse.
Have. you ever run across the docked
horse hooked to an ash or garbage wagon
in some filthy alleyway, where everything
was black with flies, and noted the action
of his worthless stub tail and of his hind
legs. Have you noted the "oh give me
death" countenance ? Have you thought
what a blessing his tail, even with hair
TO the hooks, would be to him at this time?
Have you realized that this same mutil-
ated horse may have been sold ono day for
the "long price" that he may have worn
the gorgeous mounted heavy harness;
that he may have won the "blue" in the
ring; that his every comfort On the stablel
was carefully looked after at that time
when his present soulless owner only
considers him as so many dollars worth
OF cheap property