HAIR. 



345 



the true skin, we may infer that if the former is thick and 

 coarse, the latter will be strong and harsh, and conse- 

 quently, the oil which is secreted to keep the surface soft 

 and supple, will not be able to perform its duty as efficiently 

 as it would do, were the scarf skin thin. When the scarf 

 skin gets hard and cracks from the effects of climate and 

 from its being insufficiently supplied by this oil, the highly 

 sensitive true skin becomes inflamed from irritation due 

 to exposure. The fact of cart-horses being peculiarly 

 liable to " sallenders," if they are blistered for " bog 

 spavin," taken in connection with the coarseness of their 

 hair, as compared to that of lighter breeds, would seem 

 to support the opinion that the coarser the hair, the more 

 liable is the animal to suffer from inflammation of the 

 skin, of which grease is a form that is very difficult to 

 entirely allay. We might safely conclude that if hair 

 on the legs be desired, it should be soft and silky in its 

 nature. Mr. Thomas Dykes, in his essay on The Clydes- 

 dale Horse, states that '' the back part from the knee down 

 should possess a nice flowing fringe of silken hair, which 

 should spring from the very edge of the bone. This hair 

 should be of what a judge of a Skye terrier would style 

 a ' pily ' nature ; and good judges will not have a horse at 

 all, the feather of which has a coarse matted appearance. 

 The high value set upon nice silky hair is on account of 

 its being an indication of strong, healthy bone, and as 

 hair of a short coarse matted kind suggests a tendency 

 to grease." 



