342 SKIN, COLOUR, AND HAIR. 



others, the frequent practice of thus removing them 

 should not be allowed ; because it deprives the animal of 

 a useful means of touch, and also inflicts such severe 

 pain on him, owing to the high sensibility of the roots of 

 these hairs, that the unpleasant recollection of the sharp 

 twinges will in all probability make the horse more or less 

 difficult to handle about the muzzle " (^Stable Management 

 and Exercise). 



The eye-lashes are practically confined to the upper 

 eye-lids. The functions of the fore-lock, mane and tail 

 have been respectively described on pages 212, 224 and 256. 



The protection against cold which a horse's coat affords 

 him, is chiefly due to the fact that a large amount of air 

 is retained between the hairs of that covering ; air being 

 twice as bad a conductor of heat as hair. In this case, the 

 hairs of the coat require to be close together, so as to 

 prevent movement among the retained particles of air. 

 Hence we find that in very cold climates, the hairs of the 

 coats of horses are long, fine and numerous. If such a coat 

 was exposed to rain, it would become rapidly soaked with 

 water, which is nearly twenty times as good a conductor of 

 heat as hair. We therefore find that in damp climates, the 

 hair of horses is relatively coarse, as for instance, in Shire 

 horses. 



The possession of a fine glossy coat will naturally 

 indicate that the skin is in active working order, 

 and consequently in good condition for removing the 

 surplus heat generated in the body by hard labour. The 

 Desert Arabs, who have no objection to their entires 

 having thick manes, consider that unless a horse has a 

 thin tail, he cannot be of high caste. The same idea 

 seems to have given rise to the saying that one never 

 sees a bad rat-tailed horse. 



Agreeably to the remarks made on p. 323, we find that 

 the hair on the legs of horses of the heavy draught type 

 is longer than that on the legs of riding horses ; but the 

 abnormally great length of the hair on the legs of Shires 



