Picketing-pegs should be made out of hard wood about eighteen inches to two feet long; iron ones are dangerous. They should be driven into the ground in a slanting direction, the point towards and the head away from the animal, to resist the strain on it. If there are no tent-pegs, or the ground is so soft that there is no holding for them, a hole a couple of feet deep can be dug, and a bundle of straw or a couple of tent-pegs tied crossways buried in it, the earth trodden down, and the rope brought out at the surface. This will give ample holding, and may be practically tested, for although a vertical pull will easily bring it up, the strongest man will fail to move it if the strain is horizontal.
Leading-ropes are things that ruin half the horses' mouths in India, and I never let such a thing into the stable. If they are used as they were originally intended to be, that is, buckled into the ring of the snaffle or watering bridle to lead the horse with, they do no harm; but it is impossible to prevent "syces" from passing them over the head and then back through both rings, so as to form a gag, and this they hang on to. I always make them use a leading-chain, which is a leather strap with about a foot of chain and a snap-hook at the end of it. The hook fastens into the ring of the snaffle, and they cannot well pass the strap over the head to turn it into a gag. It seems impossible to teach a "syce" how to lead a horse in a watering bridle, and I find these chains the best compromise.
The grooming utensils required in an Indian stable are very simple: a horse-brush, curry-comb, bucket, some dusters, and a hoof-picker, being the sum total; but only one of these last is required among five or six horses. It is best to get English bristle brushes, they last out two of the native fibre ones, and are very little more expensive. Good horse-brushes are made by several firms in Cawnpore, and, of course, when a large number are used, the saving is considerable if the country-made article is bought, but where only a small number are required, this is a false economy.
These an Indian "syce" cannot get on without, and although he only uses it to wear out the brush, still, after all, it does not do so very much harm; but a bad, lazy man, if he is not prevented, will use it to scrape the dirt off the horse with. Country-breds are generally very thin-skinned, and feel the comb very much if scarified with it, as the "syce" is very fond of doing; and I am positive that this practice in many cases has to account for much of the proverbial bad temper of these animals. The curry-comb should never be put on the horse's body at all, and in reality it is useless. If it can be managed, it is best not to give the "syces" such things, the only use of them being to clean the brush with, and this can be done just as well with the palm of the left hand, and the brush does not wear out so quickly; but it is the custom to use the comb, and it is hard to prevent it.