6 STABLE ECONOMY. 



side. They rub the skin with soft wisps ; those which ab- 

 sorb moisture most readily are the best, and should be often 

 changed. None but a bred groom can dry a horse expe- 

 ditiously and well in this way. The operation requires some 

 action, and a good deal of strength. An awkward groom can 

 not do it, and a lazy fellow will not. They will wisp the 

 horse for a couple of hours, and leave him almost as wet as 

 at the beginning. They lay the hair, but do not dry it, and 

 they are sure to neglect the legs and the belly, the very parts 

 that have most need to be dried quickly. The man must put 

 some strength into his arm. He must rub hard, and in all 

 directions, across, and against the hair, oftener than over it. 

 His wisp should be firm yet soft, the straw broken. Some 

 can not even make this simple article. A stout fellow may 

 take one in each hand, if only two are employed about the 

 horse ; and a boy must often take one in both his hands. Two 

 men may dry a horse in half an hour, a little more or a little 

 less, according to his condition, the length of his coat, and 

 the state of the weather. 



Clothing a Wet Horse. When the horse can neither be 

 dried by the wisp, nor kept in motion, some other means must 

 be taken to prevent him catching cold. He may be scraped, 

 and then clothed, or he may be clothed without scraping. 

 This is not a good practice, nor a substitute for grooming ; 

 it is merely an expedient which may be occasionally resorted 

 to when the horse must be stabled wet as he comes off the 

 road. Clothing renders him less likely to catch cold, but it 

 does not perform the duty that ought to be performed by the 

 groom. When the horse is completely and quickly dried by 

 manual labor, there is not the slightest chance of his suffering 

 any mischief from cold ; the friction of the wisp keeps the 

 blood on the surface, and the horse can be put up quite com- 

 fortable. When he is kept in motion till the moisture has all 

 evaporated, he can suffer no more injury than if he were 

 brought in quite dry. When clothing is applied, it is with the 

 intention of checking evaporation. It makes this process go 

 en more slowly than if the horse were naked ; in consequence 

 he loses less heat in a given time, and he never becomes very 

 cold. The clothing also absorbs much of the water, which, 

 if allowed to evaporate, would take away much heat that is 

 thus retained. Of course, the horse remains wet for a longer 

 time than if he were unclothed. But it is doubtful if moisture 

 applied occasionally for an hour or two on the skin is inju- 

 rious. It probably has some influence ; but it is well known 



