ORDINARY SWEATING 299 



have a couple of rugs heaped upon him, and be suffered to give out fluid 

 for a very few minutes only ; but if it does not break out at once three 

 or four must be put on him, and he must wait a quarter of an hour or 

 twenty minutes before he is fit to scrape. If he sweats freely, the groom 

 in charge of his head may rub his ears and wipe his eyes, so as to refresh 

 him slightly ; but if there is any difficulty in bringing on the sweat this 

 will only retard the process, and he may be allowed to stand quite quietly, 

 and without any attempt to refresh him by the above little attentions, or 

 by rubbing his legs, or wiping his thighs or bosom. As soon as the groom 

 is satisfied, the hood is taken off, and the head and neck rapidly scraped, 

 together with the bosom, from which the breast-cloth is removed, and the 

 rugs and quarter piece turned back so as to expose the whole neck and the 

 points of the shoulders. One or two strappers may be employed in scraping 

 and afterwards drying this part, besides the one holding the bridle ; but 

 if the horse is quiet enough, this may be removed, and the head dressed 

 all the more effectually. A very few minutes suffice for drying this half 

 of the horse, when the bridle should be readjusted, and the quarter piece 

 and sweaters wholly turned off over the croup ; upon this the strappers 

 again set to work with their scrapers and rubbers, they soon get rid of 

 every particle of sweat, and have the coat perfectly dry and smooth. Much 

 depends upon the stage of training ; in the early part, the sweat is profuse, 

 thick, and soapy, and takes more time to dry ; while in the latter stages, 

 when the horse is getting fit, it is watery and scanty, the horse will scarcely 

 scrape, and dries without the slightest troixble. This is a good sign of 

 condition, and the necessity for a repetition of the sweat may generally be 

 gathered by the appearance of the fluid, which, when thick and lathery, 

 shows that there is much gross fat in the system requiring removal ; but, 

 nevertheless, it also shows that great care must be taken in the process, 

 lest mischief should be done, by calling upon Nature too rapidly while the 

 animal is in this fat state, and liable to inflannnations of all kinds. After 

 rubbing all the coat dry, and smoothing it down with the leather rubber, 

 the usual clothing should be put on, and the horse allowed his exercise, 

 which he may have as usual, care being taken that he does not catch cold 

 if the weather is severe. The reason why the horse is taken out again is, 

 that if he were left in the warm stable he would break out into a second 

 sweat, and if he were placed in a cool one he would surely take cold. 

 Walking exercise, therefore, with a short canter, is adopted as a means of 

 avoiding both of these injurious conditions ; but he should not continue it 

 longer than to put him into a cool state, and restore his nerves and blood- 

 vessels to their usual condition. The length of ground and pace for 

 sweating vary with the age, condition, and purpose for which the horse is 

 trained, the maximum length being six miles, and the m^inimum two to 

 three, with a speed varying with every individual case, and depending upon 

 the age, breed, and action of the horse, as well as his constitution and legs, 

 and the state of preparation in which he is. Sweats are given at periods 

 varying from once a week to once a fortnight after the first preparation, 

 but seldom so often during that time. When sweats are given without 

 clothing, they are in other lespects just the same as described above, and 

 the strappers are required in a similar way to dry the horse at once ; but 

 the quantity of sweat is not nearly so great, and two good hands will 



