154 MODERN FAimiER. 



80. Clothing. 



Stables ought to be kept clean, dry, well venti- 

 lated, and moderately warm ; in which case body 

 clothes will not be necessary. They are indeed 

 highly improper, as they keep the body in a con- 

 stant state of relaxation, and render the animal more 

 liable to catch cold. 



' Would it not appear ridiculous and inconsistent,' 

 says a sensible writer on this siibject, 'for a man to 

 wear a great coat in a v/arra room, and to throw it 

 off when he went out in the fresh air. Yet equally 

 absurd is the practice just alluded to of clothing 

 horses in the stable. One v^^ould imagine that the 

 health of a horse was an object of the first consider- 

 ation, and certainly of more importance than the 

 fineness of his coat. But, in almost all stables, the 

 latter is considered as of the most consequence, and 

 the health of the animal is sacrificed accordingly to 

 this trifling object.' 



Clothing post or coach -horses, which are liable to 

 experience great changes, and to stand out in the 

 open air, is particularly objectionable. i\s to the 

 practice of covering a hunter or race-horse with 

 body-clothes and a hood, and in this state sweating 

 him excessively, nothing can be more absurd and 

 hurtful. The perspirable matter being confined by 

 the clothes, the pores are clogged up, tlie vapour 

 becomes rank and unwliolesome, and the poor ani- 

 mal naturally falls into a state of weakness and ex- 

 haustion. The mail coach-horses are generally kept 

 in high condition ; yet they are not only not clothed, 

 but frequently exposed to bad weather and other 

 evils. When a horse is put into a stable in a state 

 of excessive perspiration, it may not be improper to 

 cover him with a cloth, in order that he may cool 

 gradually. The other cases wherein clothing may 



