THE MOTOR VEHICLE AS A FRIEND OF THE HORSE.
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rill HE motor vehicle is the competitor • which has sealed the doom of the horse for commercial service, although, in one instance, at least; it is proving a real friend to its equine rival.
The instance to which we refer is that of a specially-devised motor conveyance which is used for carrying sick and injured animals to and from a veterinary establishment. The "animal aminv lance," as it is termed, is in use by a Los Angeles veterinary who, as the pictures reproduced below will show, has had it devised so as to enable disabled beasts to be handled. in the most expeditious and humane manner. The body of the vehicle is hung close-. to the ground, and the compartment at the back of the driver's seat is large enough to enable a horse to stand up. without discomfort. The walls of the compartment are padded, and at the forward end of the near-side of the body is a hinged door, which lets down and serves as a. gang plank down which the animal can be led, thus eliminating the necessity for backing the animal out of the rear opening, or of turning him round. The rear end lets down in the same fashion as the side door, and this opening is intended to be used when leading the animal into the van, In cases where a beast is so badly disabled that it cannot walk, a padded, false floor can be withdrawn from the bottom of the vehicle and placed close by the animal, which has previously been hobbled to prevent its kicking. Padded ropes are next placed round the body of the animal, and by means of a winch mounted at the front of the vehicle and operated by the engine, the animal can be drawn on to the false floor which is mounted on rollers. The rope is then attached to the platform, which is next pulled up into the body of the van by means of the winch, the operation being as expeditious as it iz simple.