ation of a twitch,
either on his upper lip, or on one of his ears, a method of restraint
which should never be employed. By laying down the law on this point of
horse control, I in no way pose as an authority, but rely on what my
husband, who is a veterinary surgeon, thinks on this matter. He tells me
that during the two trips which he made in 1901 to South Africa in
veterinary charge of remounts, he examined the mouths of over seven
hundred horses and found that more than ten per cent. of them had been
permanently injured, especially on the tongue, by the inhuman
application of twitches. No one, veterinary surgeon or layman, is
justified in using a twitch that will make the animal subsequently
difficult to handle. If any of my readers wish to know how a twitch can
be applied without this drawback, they should consult my husband's book,
_Illustrated Horse Breaking_. Of all horses, a good hunter which passes
into the hands of an incompetent master, is most to be pitied. The
wretched condition of many hunters is truly pitiable. Their skins,
instead of showing the glow of health, present a dried-up,
kippered-herring appearance, and some of the poor things have the
miserable half-starved look of Berlin cab horses, chiefly because they
live as a rule in a constant state of thirst, owing to the objection
their grooms have of allowing them a sufficiency of water to drink. Such
parched animals will quickly tell their mistress this secret, by loudly
neighing, if, when she goes near their boxes or stalls, she takes up and
rattles a stable bucket. This thirst torture is abominable cruelty.

In this country, grooms, as a rule, are given a free hand in the feeding
and management of horses, with frequently disastrous results, owing to
the consequent system of commissions and tips from horse dealers, corn
dealers, saddlers and shoeing smiths. In India and the Colonies,
horse-owners usually take a practical interest in the welfare of their
equine servants, which are therefore properly fed, and have a plentiful
supply of fresh water to drink. Almost all hunting grooms keep horses in
loose boxes tied up during the day, in order to prevent them lying
down, soiling themselves and disarranging the bedding, which would, of
course, entail trouble on the stable attendants. To such men, the good
effect of liberty on legs and health is, of course, a negligible
quantity. It is evident that the benefit of a loose box is nullified, if
the animal in