THE ORGAN OF TOUCH. 447 
few days the coat of hair becomes loaded with them if it is not regularly 
cleansed. ‘They afford a great protection against wind and rain, and for 
that reason they should not be removed by friction from those horses 
which are about to be turned out of doors. 
THE HAIRY APPENDAGES of the skin of the horse are of two kinds:— 
1st. The general coat. 2d. The horsehair, which is of a thicker and stiffer 
kind, and grows from the top of the neck, forming the mane, from the 
dock as the tail, from the backs of the legs, and from the eyelids and 
lips to act as feelers in enabling them to avoid injury. Lach hair is 
secreted by its bulb, which is seated partly in the dermis and partly in 
the cellular membrane, closely subjacent to the true skin. Unless, there- 
fore, the whole thickness of the dermis is destroyed, the bulb may be safe, 
and the hair is restored in the course of time. The coat is shed twice a 
year, in spring and autumn, the secretion from the bulb ceasing for a 
short period, and the hair, losing its connexion, falls out ; but the young 
hair soon takes its place, and grows to a length suited to the temperature 
to which the skin is exposed. The horsehair on the contrary is not shed, 
but if it is plucked out it is reproduced, though slowly. 
EVERY PART OF THE SKIN is sensible to impressions from external ob- 
jects, but the sense of touch, such as we possess in the fingers, can only be 
( 
Fic. 1.—NERVES OF SENSATION SUPPLIED TO THE LiPS OF THE HORSE, SILOWING ALSO THE 
ORIGIN OF THE JUGULAR VEIN. 
said to reside in the lips, and partially in the feet. All these parts are 
profusely supplied with nerves of sensation, and the horse may often be 
observed to use them in examining external objects, especially his lips, 
which are the most delicate of his organs of touch. The annexed en- 
graving of a preparation of the nerves of the face shows this distribution 
very clearly, and will give an idea of the numerous ramifications of sensi- 
tive nerves supplied to the lips. Mr. Rarey has lately drawn special 
attention to this subject; but it has long been known to those who are 
familiar with the habits of the horse. The feet are also largely supplied 
with nerves, though not to the same extent as the human fingers ; and 
being covered with horny matter, the sensibility of the surface is greatly 
reduced : still there can be no doubt that the horse uses them occasionally 
