STABLE MANAGEMENT 241 



enough without it ; but in this, as in everything else, 

 " circumstances alter cases." No doubt the artificial 

 manner in which horses are kept renders the perfect 

 working of the pores of the skin a necessity, and the health 

 of the horse depends largely upon the condition of his in- 

 tegument. Horses much exposed to the weather, though 

 brought under a roof at night, should neither receive nor 

 need such grooming, as they require a certain amount of 

 grease in their coats to be able to withstand the vicissitudes 

 to which they are exposed ; whilst a horse living in a field 

 depends entirely on the same grease, or he would speedily 

 succumb to the cold and wet which he must necessarily 

 meet with. By work, especially fast work, entailing more 

 or less sweating, the secretions of the glands of the skin 

 are enormously increased, while the pores of the skin 

 become clogged, and the object of grooming is to remove 

 these secretions, and get rid of dirt, dust, and scurf, which 

 must constantly accumulate. Furthermore, the highly 

 nutritious food upon which a hard-working horse is fed 

 also assists to increase the secretions of the skin, and 

 all these conditions can only be successfully met by a 

 thorough daily dressing of the skin. 



To be effectual the groom should add his weight to his 

 muscular power, and in fact thoroughly massage the horse, 

 thus stimulating the sebaceous glands of the skin, which by 

 their oily secretion produce a glossy appearance on the coat, 

 and give it a silky feel to the touch. Standing well 

 away from the horse the groom should lean his weight 

 on the brush, which thus used will penetrate the coat 

 effectually to the skin, the use of the curry-comb being 

 to clean the brush, and no other. After being well groomed 

 the hand should not be soiled if passed over the coat against 

 the hair. Washing horses has sometimes been advocated 

 as more thoroughly cleansing the coat than the ordinary 

 method, but the above remarks must emphasise that this 

 practice is utterly unsuitable, and in fact does more harm 

 than good by removing the oily secretion, and thereby 

 increasing the liability to take a chill. 



It is essential that a horse should be groomed immediately 



17 



